Evolving Heart
by CreativeSouls
Summary: Lucy is heartbroken to find that Natsu has a lover. However, with a brave spirit and pure soul, will she become stronger and learn to pull through the pain? Through ups and downs, with new adventures and confusing fates, Lucy continues to fight on, revealing dark secrets, and a seemingly inevitable future. However, nothing is predictable with Fairy Tail(Characters may be OOC)
1. Staying Strong

Lucy's POV

I was walking to the guild hall, humming a song to myself that I heard on the radio. Looking up, the skies were gray, and the wind was gradually getting stronger. Shivering, I pulled my sweater closer to myself as I hurried along the sidewalk, watching other people as well take out their umbrellas. _Shoot_ , I thought to myself. _Why am I so stupid? I heard that there was going to be a storm today, why didn't I bring anything to cover myself? Heck, my sweater doesn't even have a hoodie._ Feeling a little pissed off at myself, I broke out into a run, hoping that I could get to Fairy Tail before the rain fell.

~5 minutes later~

I barged into the guild hall as the storm erupted, panting from the unplanned exercise. To my surprise, nobody greeted me, and they were unusually quiet. Walking up to Mira, I asked, "Hey, what's up with everyone today? They all seem so… quiet". In a normal guild hall, with this rainy weather, sure, everyone would be a little tired, and that would be normal. However, we're talking about Fairy Tail here, a powerhouse guild with a reputation of almost obliterating the town about 10 times; there was no chance in hell that someone wasn't having another battle with someone else.

Searching the room, I noticed that even Cana wasn't drinking her booze as usual, so I approached Gray. I saw Juvia, so I thought that maybe something bad happened, which would explain both the rain and everyone's awkward silence, but she seemed pretty normal, admiring Gray from afar.

"Sup Lucy", Gray said nonchalantly as I approached him. He seemed a little nervous as I walked closer, and he started to sweat profusely. Everyone's eyes were on him as if the world was resting on his shoulders by talking to me. Choosing his words carefully, he whispered into my ear, "You might want to not be in contact with Natsu for a while". Hearing my partner's name, I looked around once more, only to find that he wasn't there. Looking at Gray quizzically, I asked, "Why? Did something happen?"

Nodding to Juvia, who was now his girlfriend, he whispered something in her ear, and she nodded. Looking at me, she flashed a small, sad smile, as if something bad had happened to me. Waving, I started to follow Gray as he tugged at my arm.

"Look, you love Natsu, right?" he asked me as soon as we were out of earshot from the rest of the guild.

Confused, flustered, and blushing madly, I answered him honestly, "Y-yeah… What about it?" Gray looked at me sadly and replied "Well, about that… Natsu, you know that he took a job and that he was coming back today? You see, he sort of bumped into Lisanna, and they got really close and now… They're a couple", Gray tells me in a small whisper, his face downcast. I was shocked. I mean, I was expecting that, I knew that Natsu didn't really hold the same romantic feelings for me that I did for him, but…Hearing it being said out loud still hurt. It hurt a lot. However, I was a Fairy Tail mage, and I was going to stand tall. Master Makarov always told us that if we fall, we should get back up. I felt tears pool up at my eyes, and Gray held me in an embrace. Shaking my head and pushing him softly away, I wiped my tears and smiled brightly.

"Don't worry", I whispered, Master Makarov's words vibrating in my head. I knew that what he said was true, and I knew that that was what I had to do, but, I still had a maiden's heart. I held in my sadness, though, cause I didn't want everyone at the guild to worry about me. Thinking about it, I chuckled to myself, realizing that this was the reason that they were all so depressed. They cared about me so much and were my family, and I couldn't' stop smiling at that fact.

"Thanks, Gray. You're a really great friend, I'm okay, I just need some time to myself. Now, hurry along to Juvia before she comes and attacks me for stealing her man", I joked, pushing Gray towards the guild hall. With a tint of a blush appearing on his cheeks, he nodded, hugged me one more time, and jogged back. Sighing, I ran the other direction, the wind feeling great against my cheeks. I just noticed that we were standing in the rain the whole time and that I was completely drenched from head to toe. Spotting and overhang ahead, I rushed to it, wringing out my shirt from the edge. I let down my bun and shook my hair, which now reached to my waist. Summoning Virgo, she changed me into some dry clothes and handed me an umbrella. With the usual routine, me summoning her, refusing her offer of punishment, and then closing her gate, I laughed to myself, remembering that I also had many other friends who could help me through the tough times. With that happy thought, I headed back home and lived through the rest of the day with a bittersweet feeling.

~The next day~

Natsu's POV

I ran into the guild, holding Lisanna's hand, and everyone started to glare daggers at me. Gray, on the other hand, started to ignore me completely, even after I started calling him the usual nicknames, like Ice Princess, Droopy Eyes, and such. Spotting Lucy at the bar drinking her usual smoothie, I gulped, remembering the fact that she liked me- and more than friends. I was just wondering how to tell her about my relationship with Lisanna when she turned around and flashed me a smile that could light up the room. Blushing, I walked up to her slowly, still gripping Lisanna's hand.

"Lucy, I-", she cut me off, hugging Lisanna and me merrily.

"I heard about the good news! I'm so happy for you guys! You two make a match made in heaven!" Lucy exclaimed. Surprised, Lisanna and I looked at each other. Lucy, observing us, started to talk once more. "Natsu, what are you doing? Be a gentleman and pull up a seat for your girlfriend!". With this, she mouthed to Lisanna about how she was so sorry she had to end up with an idiot like me, and I started to laugh. I was glad that Lucy was able to handle the news so well. As the girls started to talk about how the whole thing happened, I walked away, looking at the request board. Spotting something, I almost asked Lucy if she wanted to go, but decided against it. _I have a girlfriend now. I should pay more attention to her. Lucy seems fine, so maybe I should just leave her be. I have my priorities, and she has hers, I'm sure. She doesn't seem to mind my relationship, so there's no need to be gentle. Heck, I should go all out. She's a proud mage, she can handle a little heartbreak,_ I thought to myself. Proud of my -what I was sure- excellent decision making, I called Lisanna over and picked out a job. She nodded eagerly, and I smiled, sitting down together, I could've sworn that I saw something in Lucy's eye glimmer, but I ignored it.

Lucy's POV

I watched as Natsu called Lisanna, and picked out a job for them to go on together- alone. Not even Happy was going, I knew, since I saw Natsu also talk to Happy, and the blue exceed nodded understandingly, yet sadly. Flying to me, Happy asked if we could go on a job together. Smiling at the blue exceed, I wondered if Natsu was neglecting the adorable cat. I saw a job that lasted 3 days, and had a really good pay, and Happy nodded excitedly, dreaming of how many fish he could buy with the amount of money that we were about to net.

"Ne, Lucy. Isn't this job pretty hard? Should we ask Natsu to help?" Waving off Happy's offer, I told him that I got stronger over the time that Natsu was gone; he had taken a 3-month job, and I had done lots of training with my spirits. "Yosh! Let's kick some bad-guy butt!" I yelled excitedly as Happy chimed in. I felt everyone looking at us happily, and even Natsu turned to stare at us wide eyed. As the tow of us ran to our respective homes to pack what was needed, we both held a determination linked to Natsu- one of us was heartbroken and the other one was ignored. We silently agreed that we would prove to the fire mage that we didn't need him.


	2. Power Doesn't Change Me

Lucy's POV  
the monsters cornered us, forming a circle around us as Happy cowered behind me, crying. I comforted the usually perky blue exceed, and stared at the situation that we got ourselves into. Multiple high rank monsters were slowly approaching us, but at least the villagers were safe. On my command, Happy flew out of the ring, being too fast for the monsters to catch him. Now, just for me to beat the crap out of these idiots. I wasn't tired at all, and I felt the magic pulsing through my veins. Using all of my strength, I summoned all of my zodiac spirits at once, and they started to attack, while I stayed in the center and focused my primordial magic as best as I could. I did this once before, when Leo was still Loke, but that was just a fluke. I've been practicing so much with all of my heart and soul, and I love my spirits to death for working so hard as well. For the primordial magic, I remember Capricorn training me to do this before the Grand Magic Games. Before, I could only get a small wind to surround me, but now, I had a tornado on my hands, and I beckoned my spirits to close their gates- as powerful as they were, they were only a distraction for the monsters. As the truth dawned on the beasts, I called forth all of my magical power, and a storm erupted. Lightning struck as rain and hail poured onto the enemy, although avoiding the onlookers. Tornados erupted, and light and dark magic combined into powerful attacks. It only took a second for all of the hundreds of monsters to be crushed, and I rubbed off some sweat making its way down my forehead. As the villagers cheered, Happy came up to me. "Lucy! When were you this powerful?! And now you can summon all of your spirits at once?! Look at you, though, you're barely breathing heavily!" Happy exclaimed in shock. I smiled as I made my way towards the townspeople, who were still clapping wildly. The chief made his way towards me, and said, "Lucy Heartfilia, you are one of the strongest people I have ever met. I respect you, and I am grateful to you from the very bottom of my heart. Please accept this reward of 4,000,000,000 Jewel.

"WHAT?! THAT'S WAY MORE THAN STATED ON THE JOB REQUEST! I cannot accept this great amount!" I protested earnestly, not wanting the poor village to go bankrupt. Laughing, the chief replied, "Well, there were a lot more monsters than stated on the job request as well, so I guess we're even". Smiling, Happy and I bowed to the village as they started to make their way back to Hargeon. Happy looked down and said, "Lucy, you can keep it all".

I, confused, questioned Happy, whom replied that he barely did anything for me on the job. "That's not true, Happy. You were very brave out there, and you stuck with me till the end. I'm very proud of you. Also, you were willing to carry mu heavy self and fly all the way there", I comforted while poking fun at myself, wanting to lift the dreary mood. As we neared the guild, Happy broke out crying, and flew into my arms. "Lucy, you're too nice! You don't need that idiot Natsu! He's no good for you!" Happy said as he hugged me.

We walked into the guild hall as Happy quickly dried his tears, not wanting Carla to think badly of him. Flying in excitedly, Happy started to tell everyone, quite loudly I might say, of how I beat the monsters with my magic single handedly. As he continued to go on, I closed my hand over Happy's mouth, and whispered, "Can you keep my magic a secret, please?" Happy nodded, not knowing why I would want to keep such awesome power a secret, but he didn't ask. Everyone greeted me as usual, and ignored Happy's outburst. Sitting down at the bar, I saw Natsu and Lisanna staring at me, and I greeted them tiredly.

"You look different, Lucy-", Natsu started, but was quickly cut off by someone barging in, bringing and unusually familiar bright light with them, reminding everyone of a certain Sabertooth guild master.

"Sting!" everyone shouted in surprise and joy, the dragon slayer having become very close with Fairy Tail after the chaos of Face and END. Sting flashed a quick smile and polite greeting to everyone, and then quickly scanned the hall. Finding me, his eyes widened and he pointed a finger at me, while everyone, including I, was just staring at him confused.

"You!" he shouted, coming towards me. "Lucy Heartfilia, forget about Natsu Dragneel! You are my new role model!" Sting shouted, kneeling down to me. Lector, is exceed, did the same, and everyone continued staring at him like he was mad.

"Um, what's this all about?" Natsu questioned, very confused as to what was unravelling before his eyes. Sting started to explain his story:

FLASHBACK

Sting's POV

 _I was walking in the woods, taking a shortcut to the guild after I finished my daily training. Hearing some screams, I ran to the scene of the sound. I was met, face to face, with hundreds of those S- class monsters that we saw at the GMG's, like that small one in Pandemonium. I saw a bunch of villagers gathered around, and I was about to step in, but then I see none other than the beautiful Lucy Heartfilia. She had a serious expression on her face, and she was super concentrated. Then, she did something that I knew Yukino could ever even dream of doing- she summoned all 12 of the zodiac spirits at once! Then, obviously not done with her display, Lucy let out a small burst of her primordial magic, bringing forth storms as well as light and dark magic. In that second, I first saw hundreds of s-class monsters, then I blinked, and they were all obliterated, the only traces of them some ashes and smoke coming from the ground. I looked at the powerful mage in awe- she wasn't this strong at the GMG's! I decided not to move, but to watch her in case she fainted or something, which I was sure she was. But instead, she simply wiped off some sweat, and then started to go home with Happy like nothing just happened!_

END OF FLASHBACK

Lucy's POV

I face palmed myself, everyone's attention now directed towards me. I knew that I was going to be found out eventually, but I never thought that everyone would find out this soon. A shocked silence settled into the room, until, that is, I started to walk towards the great Eucliffe, still kneeling. I pulled him by the collar of his vest, which barely covered him, and pulled his face close to mine, until the gap between us was only a few inches. Staring into his blue orbs, I whispered, "Great, now they know my secret. How are you going to repay me now?" with an annoyed tone of voice. The dragon slayer only stared at me, confused, then he did something I never thought would happen. He kissed me. When the gap between our faces was evident again, I scurried to the other side of the room, my back bumping into a wall. Everyone in the hall kept staring at us. Realizing what he just did, Sting bowed and apologized. He muttered something that I was sure Mira fainted over, her being a demon matchmaker, and then he walked out of the guild hall. Cana broke the silence, and drunkenly nudged me, shouting, "So, Lucy, you have a lot of explaining to do" I sighed, and reluctantly nodded.

"So, here's the deal, that story's true. When Natsu took that 3 month job, I didn't have a team, and it was pretty pointless for me to take a job, so I spent all 3 months training. I trained my endurance with my spirits, and I had Capricorn help me with my primordial magic. Well, nothing much happened, but before I knew it, I grew way stronger. The reason I didn't tell anyone was because I felt that if you guys knew, it would be awkward, or our relationships would change, since I'm never usually considered the strong one in a group. So, that's that, I'm nothing special, just a little stronger, is all" I explained to everyone. I was lying, and I was sure that Natsu could hear the irregular beating of my heart. I didn't want them to find out the truth about me, though. I wanted everything to be normal; I wanted everyone to still love me as their family. My train of thought was broken, though, when I heard a very familiar 'eeeepp!' from across the room, and I, now rigidly looking back, was greeted with the shining eyes of a murderer.

Mira, the matchmaking demon, then revived from the dead and walked over to me. "Uh-huh, but more importantly, what's your relationship with Sing Eucliffe?!" All the girls in the guild squealed, while all of the males just looked down, blushing. Mira continued, "After, you guys, you know, _kissed",_ Mira put emphasis on the word, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively, "he mumbled, 'it was on instinct'". Sitting down at the bar, the girls surrounded me, and I, blushing, too, put my head down.

Levy joined in, saying, "She's blushing! Lu- Chan, I'm so happy for you! Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?!"

Standing up, still blushing, I yelled, "He's not my boyfriend! He won't ever be!" Mira then came up to me with a Sherlock Holmes outfit where god knows where she pulled that out from, and said, "Hmmmmm, you sounded a little disappointed when you said that last part!"

In anger, I yelled out Sting's name, and he materialized in front of me. "Yes, Blondie?" he asked with a devious smirk on his grin, watching my surprised facial expression. Grateful that he was here, I replied, "Hey, you're blonde too, you know? Anyways, save me from this mess, this is all _your_ fault" I pointed out. I didn't even question how he teleported here. God knows _what_ this crazy dude is thinking.

"As you wish princess" Sting said with his usual arrogant attitude as he picked me up bridal style. I blushed, but I held on to the back of his neck, knowing full well how fast a dragon slayer can run, especially a _light_ dragon slayer. The girls squealed at our exchange, and I rolled my eyes as Sting carried me far away. Soon, we were at Sting's room in the Sabertooth guild, and he put me down. Then, I asked him bluntly, "What was with that kiss?" HE blushed, which was unlike him, and answered quietly, well, you were really close, and you were whispering, and on top of that, you were whispering _seductively_! So, basically, it was your fault for being too cute" Sting explained, steam now coming out of his ears. I blushed, and then I regained my composure.

"Well, tomorrow you better come and clear up the misunderstandings of our relationship at the guild" I stated matter-of-factly. Sting just smirked and then pinned me against the ground. "Why, what about our relationship are they misunderstanding?" Sting asked as his face neared mine. Unable to speak, I shivered as he blew onto my neck, and then was relieved when he got off of me and helped me up.

"Just kidding. Fine, I'll come by tomorrow" Surprised that he didn't put up more of a fight, I bowed and walked back home, quickly falling asleep thanks to the busy day that I had. As I fell asleep, I began to think of Fairy Tail.

 _I thought about the days that I was away from the guild, and how my guild mates were always so caring. They were happy for me when I was happy, and they didn't mind when I was selfish. They were sad when I was sad, and they were worried when I was hurt. They were overprotective like parents, but they would always fool around with me like friends. My new power has been overlooked for now, but I wonder what they're really thinking? Natsu doesn't seem to care. Well, I hope that he's happy. He's a dense idiot, and he's so impulsive, but he's still my friend. Lisanna's a nice girl as well, I hope that they're happy, truly. That doesn't mean I'm not jealous, though. Why am I thinking of him? Because I love him, of course. Why did it have to be him? Why? I can't even look at him in the eye anymore. It's painful, but I have to be strong. I'm powerful now. I can summon all of my spirits at once now. I don't need him now. Wait…NO! Stop this, Lucy! So what? Just because you can summon all of your spirits at once doesn't mean a thing. Even if I was the strongest mage in fiore, in the world, it wouldn't mean a thing. I'm still just Lucy Heartfilia, a Fairy Tail mage. Being powerful doesn't mean anything if you don't care for others. Being powerful doesn't mean anything if you don't have the compassion to use your power. Being powerful doesn't mean a thing if you're oblivious to your own heart. I need to think about things. I need to accept the fact that I've fallen in love with a stupid, dense idiot. I need to accept the fact that he doesn't love me back. I need to accept everything. I don't need to care about my powers, or how powerful I am, just as long as I have my spirits. Calm down, now. Just because I'm powerful doesn't mean I'm a different person. I want to care for those who care for me, I want to love those who have treated me as family, I want to accept those who have accepted me. I now know what I have to do. I need to be myself._

Natsu's POV

I walked home, with Sting and Lucy in my head. I was overprotective of Lucy, she was my friend. _Wait! You can't be thinking of Lucy now! You have a girlfriend, idiot! What would happen if she got the wrong idea? Lucy can handle herself, I trust her. She can be with that stupid, idiot Sting. What am I thinking…?_

"Damn It!" I punched the wall, stopping in my tracks. I needed to straighten out my priorities. Lisanna can't get the wrong idea, so I'll just ignore Lucy for a while. Yeah, that's right. That's the answer. Lucy will understand, right? I mean, she knows that I don't lover her… I don't love her, right? Of course I don't!

As I walked in silence for a few more minutes, I caught myself. What did I just think…?

 _I was overprotective of Lucy, she was my friend… I was overprotective of Lucy, she_ _was_ _my friend… was?! Was?! I'm an idiot! What am I supposed to do?! Damn, it Lucy, the way you control my thoughts is so annoying. What the hell am I supposed to do now?! I even have to take in Happy's perspective… Damn, it…Damn it all… I don't care anymore._ I don't care anymore. I sunk to my knees, being driven mad.

I looked up to the sky and saw the stars twinkling through the night. I swear, I almost heard the Celestial Spirits calling out to me. "I don't care anymore…" I whispered to myself, almost trying to convince myself, as I felt a small tear make its way down my cheek. I couldn't help it. I love Lisanna, I care for Lucy, and one'll get jealous while the other will get heartbroken. Wait a minute… I thought about this before…ha-ha…I'm a fool. That's right! Yes! That's the answer! Finally! Lucy…that's right…You're strong now…I don't have to care. She can handle herself. I smiled a bit, whispering up at the sky…"Thank you"- I was almost convinced that this was the answer I had been looking for- almost.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Hey guys! I'll try to post at least every other day- well, at least more than once a week, to be sure. I want to see your reviews, and I don't mind any suggestions for as to where the plot will head. This chapter was dedicated to StingLu, but I'll try to please all of my shippers out there! Well, I don't think I can just bring myself to ship Lucy with Laxus, though, I'm sorry. I hope that you guys like this story so far, though, so keep on reading! (I suggest you check updates every other day).**

 **~FatedGateway**


	3. My Day Out and Misundedrstandings

Lisanna's POV

I was chatting with Mira at the bar when I saw Natsu walk in. He was smiling confidently, but for some reason, I could sense some ambivalence in his eyes. _He must've been pretty confused about what happened yesterday. I mean, watching your best friend get kissed by your rival/friend/admirer must be pretty shocking. His ego must be ripped, too, since he's been replaced as Sting's idol._

"Hey Nat-" Lucy tried to greet him but Natsu completely ignored her and just kept making his way over to me. _What is that jerk doing? He's Lucy's best friend, why's he ignoring her? Did they get into a fight? Nah, if they did, it would've been over by now._

"Hey Lisanna, do you want to go on a date today? I mean, we took a job yesterday, so we should treat ourselves, right?"

Hearing this, my thoughts vanished and I perked up, "Sure, Natsu, what do you want to do today?"

"Your choice, Lis" I blushed at the new nickname that he gave me, and then hurriedly stood up and took his hand. _Natus's such a charmer, anybody would fall in love with him._

"S-sure then, let's go" I replied stuttering, happy that Natsu was finally taking me out on our first date. I looked back at everyone to say bye, and saw Mira wink my way, but then I caught sight of Lucy. She just sighed, but I could see the hurt in her eyes. _I'm sorry, Lucy, I just love him too much. I wish I could help you…Natsu probably has a good reason for all of this._ Thinking this, I sighed, and walked out of the guild hall, hand in hand with Natsu. My heart fluttered as he squeezed my hand harder, and all I could do to not fall for him again was to look away, a small smile adorning my features.

Lucy's POV  
"Hey Nat-" Natsu completely brushed me off and proceeded to ask Lisanna on a date, not failing to also give her a cute new nickname. I sighed and saw Lisanna look back at me sympathetically. _She's such a nice girl, though, she deserves to be happy, yet here she's, still worrying about me._ I smiled at the thought. _She is, after all, a Fairy Tail mage._ My thoughts were interrupted yet again, though, when I heard the dejected cry of a certain self- proclaimed dragon.

"Waaaaaaaaah Natsu! Wait for me!" Happy wailed as he desperately tried to fly after the two lovebirds, only to be weighed down by the ton of fish that he was carrying. As Happy's wings disappeared, I bent down to catch him, and he landed in my hands with a big _thud_. _Happy never gives up, does he? He and his fish..._ I laughed inwardly at Happy's silly behavior.

Looking at the lonely exceed's expression, I knew that I just couldn't leave him alone.

"Hey, Happy, do you want to just spend the day together and relax?" I proposed with a happy smile on my face.

"Wha-?" was all the Happy could reply as I started to drag him into the town, excitement bubbling up in my chest.

We stopped at an ice cream parlor, where Happy looked excitedly at all of the flavors. Knowing what he wanted, I secretly whispered to the ice cream man, "Hey, do you think I could use your ice cream machine for a little bit for a special flavor? I'll give you extra pay. That cat over there is feeling a little down, so I would like to cheer him up, you know?"

The man, who was actually a good friend, replied, "Anything for you, Lucy" Smiling, I passed by him, into the shop, and quietly whispered a thank you to the man. "Thanks, Jay"

Getting together all of the ingredients, including one that I brought from the guild, I started to make Happy's super special deluxe!

~5 minutes later~

I walked out of the shop, holding Happy's ice cream behind my back. I saw him still staring intently at the different flavors, and when he saw me, he gave up.

"Lucy! I can't decide!" Happy cried while spurting out water fountains. In response, I held out my amazing creation.

"Ta-da! Here it is, you super special fish ice cream deluxe!' I exclaimed, proud of my work. Happy squealed in delight as I got a strawberry ice cream and paid for both of us while waving goodbye and thanking Jay.

We walked along the sidewalk together, while talking about random things, such as how miserably Happy's relationship with Carla was going, and how Gray hilariously froze himself once. We talked for a while, and then neared a park, where we found a place to sit under a tree. The summer heat was kicking in, and ice cream was just what we needed to cool off. Little did we know, there was another couple on a nearby bench, watching us intently as we chatted away…

"Ne, Lucy, show me some of your magic. You know, can you show me the primordial one again?! Please, please!" Laughing, I agreed. _Heck, I have nothing to hide now, might as well get both of our minds off it for a bit._

I got into a meditating position, and I focused all of my magic into the center of my body. The winds started to swirl around me, causing a mini tornado. Seeing that people were watching, I decided to make it a show. Grinning to myself, I set off fireworks from the gold sparkles of my celestial magic, and the elemental magic that my winds were creating. The elements all came together, making fireworks, as water and flame danced around each other, and storm and myth swirled in the air, people looked in awe at the collision of magic. I finished off with one last firework, and everyone in the park started to clap. Standing up and doing a little bow, I smiled to myself. _That was fun. That was really fun._ And, for the first time in 3 months, I smiled, but not just any smile. I smiled the smile that I thought I could only show to Natsu- except, this time, it was way brighter.

Natsu's POV

My eyes widened as I saw Happy and Lucy come to the park and sit under a tree. Following my eyes, Lisanna saw them as well and smiled a bit.

"Looks like they're having fun, right? Good for them" she said, looking at Lucy fondly. _Shit, we forgot Happy, the poor guy. Wait, what?! HE got that fish ice cream that I never got him?! What the heck? Maybe Lucy got it for him… oh well._ Then I saw something that I never would've dreamed of.

Lucy put on a show of the elements and fireworks, the primordial magic swirling around her so strong that even _I_ had to brace myself. It was beautiful, though. Lucy looked like she was having so much fun. _Oh, man. She's going to faint after exerting all of this magical energy, isn't she?_ Getting prepared to help her, I was surprised to see her stand up, give a bow, and then continue to eat the ice cream that Happy held for her like nothing happened. _Is this really the same Lucy that I knew 3 months ago? Wow, she's grown so much over the time that I haven't seen her. Maybe Sting's story was actually true...?_

TIME SKIP

Lucy's POV

The day was over, and Happy and I walked into the guild, feeling refreshed. After we got ice cream, we headed to the shopping center, where we saw some musicians and got to dance in a circle. We went to a sauna, which was super relaxing, and then went to the pool to cool off a bit. We had so much fun! Happy fell asleep in my arms, and I smiled fondly at him. _What a jerk Natsu is, how could he leave Happy all alone like that?_

I walked into the guild, and quietly greeted everyone, not wanting to wake Happy up. Sitting down at the bar, I got my usual strawberry smoothie and sighed. All of a sudden, Sting walked into the hall, and just as I was thinking, _oh great,_ I remembered the promise he made yesterday.

FLASHBACK

 _I was relieved as he got off of me, and helped me up._

 _"Okay, fine. I'll drop by tomorrow"_

 _I was surprised that he didn't put up more of a fight, but I just shrugged it off- as long as all of the misunderstandings were going to be cleared._ _I especially don't want the matchmaking demon to get over excited._

 _END OF FLASHBACK_

"Lucy, your boyfriend's here!" Mira shouted, hearts in her eyes as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, which was starting to become a habit of hers.

"Nope," I simply replied, pointing at the white dragon slayer. "He's here to clear up any misunderstandings about our relationship" I explained, the whole guild now staring at us. I walked to the middle to stand by Sting's side, and I nudged him.

" _Go on_ " I whispered, making Sting flinch from my breath on his neck. I chuckled, and he spoke up. All of a sudden Natsu and Lisanna walked in, and I thought, _perfect timing for the idiot to come_. Seeing Natsu, Sting then smirked, and I saw a devious gleam in his eyes.

"So, as you all know, there seems to be some misunderstanding about our relationship. You all think we're lovers, don't you? Well, you're all mistaken!" I sighed, relieved, but tensed up as Sting put his arm around me.

"The thing is, we don't have some normal _I have a crush on her_ relationship, nope! We're boyfriend and girlfriend, we're gonna get married, and then we're gonna have about a million kids!" Sting exclaimed, looking my way while sticking his tongue out. Everyone's faces turning scarlet, Fairy Tail exclaimed in unison:

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?!"

I face palmed as the dragon slayer ran away laughing, and I was left in a mob full of unanswered questions

"When did you meet?" "How come you never told us?" Have you done _it?"_ "When's the marriage?" "Can I be the maid of honor?!"

Over in a corner, saw Mira chanting, "Blonde haired, brown eyed babies, Blonde haired blue eyed babies, Brown haired blue eyed babies, brown haired brown eyed babies!" She then got a nosebleed, fainted, and was taken to the infirmary as Elfman and Lisanna tried to help her up.

Running away from the crime scene, I thought, _damn you, Sting,_ and I continued to run to my apartment.

Once I finally got there, I locked the door and breathed a sigh of relief as I walked into the bathroom to just soak all of my worries away.

TIME SKIP

After I dried my hair, my eyes were cursed with the sight of a tuft of pink, no excuse me, _salmon,_ hair.

"Is it true?" he simply asked, and I immediately shook my head, my face downcast as I turned red. Natsu just stared at me for a while, and then knocked his head against the wall- and let me say this- he did it _hard_.

"Hey, Lucy about this morning-"I cut him off as I flinched at the sound of my name. Tears dotted my eyes, and I hid them behind my hair.

"Why won't you call me Luce, just like you used to?" I asked my voice wavering. As he crouched on the ground, silent, I just nodded my head and wiped away my tears. Looking up, I flashed him my usual smile.  
"Nevermind"- that was the last word he would ever hear me say for the next month. It hurt. It really did. But I didn't care- as long as he was happy with Lisanna, it would be all right. They were my friends and they deserved it. As I shook away my sad thoughts, I cracked my knuckles viciously.

"Now, all that's left to do is to beat the hell out Sabertooth's guild master," I said, a much more evil smile gracing my lips.


	4. Revenge Plan Failed

**Disclaimer: Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima. All copyright laws apply.**

No One's POV  
Lucy walked into the guild hall where all the girls were about to ambush her, but then everyone stopped in their tracks. Lucy was PISSED. She was wearing a rigid smile, and a dark aura was emitting from her body. It even was able to send chills down the almighty _Erza's_ spine. As everyone backed away, Lucy spoke up.

"Good morning, everyone. Eh…? Why's everyone so quiet…? Hehe, heh, hehe" Lucy grinned maliciously, and everyone immediately glanced Natsu's way. In unison, all of Fairy Tail thought

 _Just what the hell did you do now, idiot?!_

Lucy's POV

Sighing, I just made my way over to the bar, and glanced at Natsu, who gulped. I didn't even try to greet him today, knowing that he would probably ignore me. I slumped down once I got to my seat, and just put my head down.

"Yo, Mira, can I have the usual, except large and to go?" I asked, rubbing my head as Mira quickly nodded, not wanting to get on my bad side this particular morning. I was staying up all night, wondering how to get my revenge on the great Sting Eucliffe.

" _We don't have the normal, I have a crush on her relationship, nope! We're boyfriend and girlfriend, and we're gonna get married and are gonna have about a million kids!"_

The same line kept repeating over and over in my head, and I just sighed once again. _Stupid, stupid Sting!_ My life was a complete mess, and I was totally going to get him back good for it. The thing was, I just didn't know how. Mira walked up to me and gave me my large strawberry smoothie. I waltzed up to the request board and happened to spot something that caught my eye.

"Mira, can you approve this quest. It's from _Sabertooth_ " I said, putting emphasis on the guild name. Mira immediately forgot the tense atmosphere as hearts filled her eyes.

"Oh, of course! Are you going to pay a visit to you beloved Sting?!" Mira squealed, catching everyone's attention.  
"Oh, yes I am. Yes, I am indeed…" I trailed off, grinning as to what was going to become of the great guild master of Sabertooth.

I walked to the said guild, looking over the job request one more time. _I wonder why they need a bartender. Oh well, Mira taught me a lot of things, so I should be fine. At least, I got an excuse to be near him, though. I'm pretty sure that I'll come up with something._ Arriving at the guild, I bust the doors open and shouted, in my usual, cheery manner:

"YO SABERTOOTH, WHAT'S UP?!" I shouted, causing a cheer to erupt throughout the guild.

Sabertooth was officially best friends with Fairy Tail, and I had happened to get extremely close to them, especially Minerva and Yukino.  
The said mages walked over to give me a warm smile as everyone came over to greet me.

"What brings you here so suddenly?" Minerva asked, quite amused to see the reactions of her fellow guild members.

"I accepted this job request from you guys. I happen to know a lot about this. Also…I have some business I have to take care of with your guild master." I finished, my smile gradually turning darker and darker as each word slipped by.

Yukino was excited to see me, and replied "Well, I'm so glad that you're here! We'll be needing you for the week if you don't mind. Oh, but the pay is really good. It's about 1,000,000 Jewel"

My eyes widened at the reward. "Why so much for such a simple task?" I asked, confused.

"You, see, well…" Minerva trailed off as her voice dropped to a whisper. "We happen to eat a lot. Like, _a lot."_ I smiled understandingly and patted Minerva's back. _I've had enough experience with Natsu and Gajeel at Fairy Tail…_ As I thought about the two, I mentally face palmed. _It sure has gotten livelier around here, though. Sting must be a good master._ "So, when do I start the job?" I asked, excited. I actually really liked to cook.

"If you don't mind, can you start today?" Yukino asked shyly. Nodding vigorously, I put up my hair into a high ponytail, tied up an apron that Mira lent me, and darted straight to the bar.

"Hello, Lucy. Fancy seeing you here" Rufus said, flashing me a smile. Returning it, I explained the situation I was in, and I continued to make small talk with everyone. Taking down orders and preparing the food, I was able to get through the day in no time flat.

"Well, well, you're really good at this Lucy" Minerva complimented me.

"Mira taught me a lot of things back at the guild" I explained as I started to pack up my things. "What time should I be here tomorrow?" I questioned, checking my watch.

"Anytime you please. We're… not morning people" Yukino said, laughing a bit, obviously embarrassed.

"Well then, I'll come in at 6, so I can make breakfast for you all!" I exclaimed, running out of the doors. I heard them try to protest, saying that people could just go out to eat, but I ignored them happily, something else on my mind. _Where was Sting?_

Back at Fairy Tail, I talked to Mira about the day, and she just laughed at all of the stories I told her. Looking at my facial expression, she asked me worriedly, "Lucy, is something wrong? You look… disappointed" As I registered what she said, my face turned scarlet as I tried to dismiss the thoughts I had of Sting. However, to no prevail, they just kept rebounding. Sighing, I just gave up.

Natsu's POV

Lisanna and I walked into the guild- we were both beat from completing that last job. We had to beat up some monsters, and man was they rough. We sat down, and I was about to greet Lucy when I heard something unexpected.

"Mira, I didn't see Sting today… so I was a bit worried. And now, I can't stop thinking about him!" Lucy exclaimed, giving up to Mira's antics as she tried to hide her blushing face. Lisanna ran over to Mira as she started to faint, and I just sat down next to Lucy, confused.

"Lucy"

"…"

"Lucy"

"…"  
"Luce?"

"…"

I took a deep breath as I realized what I was about to do.

"…Blondie?"

Lucy's head shot up, and the first word that came out of her mouth was, "Sting!"

She looked at me, then said nothing as she put her head back down. Trying to start a conversation, I asked her about her day.

"How was your day?" She gave a thumbs up in reply.

"Are you tired?" She just shook her head, not even glancing my way.

''Are you busy tomorrow?" She looked at me, eyes glistening and mouth starting to form into a small smile. I smiled, thinking that I had cleared my mission. Much to my dismay, though, she just nodded, stood up, and waved goodbye to everyone.

 **The Next Day**

Lucy's POV

I woke up and headed to Sabertooth, and once I got there, I steeled myself to make about 100 pounds of breakfast foods. Sipping on the strawberry smoothie that Mira gave me before hand, I glanced at my notes I took yesterday at what everyone preferred to eat. Guessing at what everyone would like, I started to cook happily, humming a tune fit for such a beautiful day that it was.

~2 Hours Later~

Everyone started to get up and looked flabbergasted at the feast that was waiting for them. Spotting Rufus' normally calm expression turn to one of complete and utter confusion, I couldn't help but laugh at him. Checking my notes once again, I handed him the honey pancakes with black coffee. Rufus just stared at me, surprised.

"These are my favorite! How did you know?! Also, you made all of this?!" Rufus asked, looking at all the plates of food. Nodding, I showed him the notes that I made to everyone's tastes, and I think I made the Memory Mage glow with pride. He wiped a tear and started to write his will, chanting things like "I'm in heaven. What an angel… God, you're too Kind…" Giggling, I handed everyone their food as they started to make their way to the main hall from the dorms. Minerva and Yukino gave me thumbs ups of approval, Orga flashed me a toothy grin, and the other Sabertooth members proceeded to hoist me up on their shoulders. Then, Rogue came down, and he looked pretty confused as to why I was here.

"Don't worry, I'm not an intruder. I'm the temporary bartender." I explained, handing him his dark chocolate croissant with butter coffee. He blinked, and took the food gratefully. _He wasn't here yesterday, but I remember what he ate during the Grand Magic Games while I was helping the kitchen staff._ I chuckled to myself, proud that I was able to remember when I saw Sting. He had a serious case of bed head, drool dripping down his face while his eyes were half open and he was scratching his butt. Smirking, I immediately knew how I was going to get my revenge, and brought up my phone camera from behind my back.

Sting noticed me, quickly fixed up his appearance, and then said cockily, "Well, well, well. I see that someone couldn't wait to see me." In response, I just shoved the job request flyer in his face, handed him his white chocolate donut, sweet bread, and coffee, and continued to smile innocently. _Haha, he wasn't expecting that, now was he?_

Sting regained his composure and sat down, eyeing his food suspiciously. I heard that Sting liked sweet things, so I decided to make something up for him. My annoyance turned to anxiety as he brought the food to his mouth. I turned around so he couldn't see that I was closing my eyes nervously, but he brought a smile to my face when he stood up, turned me around, and practically yelled in my face

"THIS IS FREAKING DELICIOUS!" He earned a cheer from the crowd behind him, and everyone just kept complimenting me while I tried to hide under the table from embarrassment.

TIME SKIP  
the day ended, and Sting came up to me, thanking me for the hard work, though reluctantly and with a scolding from Rogue.

"T-thanks. The food was really good…" Sting trailed off, which I found adorable. _Wait, what?! Lucy, watch it! No, now's the time to commence plan revenge!_

"I would like to thank you, too," I said, faking sincerity. When Sting asked me what for, I waved the picture in his face and bluntly replied. "For this".

With that, I broke out into a run, the wind whipping against my face and laughing as Sting ran after me. He was caught off guard, and he was way too full or his own good, so he didn't run as fast as usual. Laughing, I enjoyed the chase; it was pretty fun. Soon, we both barged into Fairy Tail, both panting and rolling on the floor laughing. Mira went into fangirl mode again, and Natsu just asked us,

"Where were you, Lucy?" I tried to explain, but my voice wouldn't come out over all the laughing. Instead, I just pointed a shaky finger at Sting, while Sting desperately tried to take my phone, which had the picture on it, away from me.

He tried to speak, but he was laughing too hard that all that came out was fragments of a sentence.

"She…picture…fool…breakfast…morning…BWAHAHAHAHAH" was all that Sting could come up with- even he had to laugh at the ridiculous picture.

I started, still pointing at Sting.

"Saber…tooth…bar…re…venge…donut…BeD HEAD…HAHAHA!" We burst out laughing some more, and it was so contagious, that everyone in the guild laughed along with us.

"What are those lovebirds thinking?"

"Such fools!"

"They look so cute together!"

Little did I know, I had so much fun with Sting, that it would be too hard to say goodbye. And little did I know, there was a certain dragon slayer who wasn't laughing along with us, but was just keeping his face down as he walked past us and out the guild, his absence unnoticed.


	5. Underestimated and a New Friend

**I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima. All copyright laws apply**

Natsu's POV

I walked out of the guild hall, my absence not even being noticed by Lucy. _What the heck? Someone who used to be the enemy is now the center of attention? And he's hanging out with my Luce? Damn, it! Wait, what? My Luce? No, she's not mine. I knew she had feelings for me before, yet i trampled all over them. What's wrong with me? Yet, i can't shake off this lingering feeling...What could it be? Regret? No, no, no, this can't be happening to me right now. I have Lisa-_

"Natsu" a familiar voice clouded over my thoughts. I looked up to see Lisanna, a serious expression on her face as she looked at me.

"Oh, hey. I was going home just now since I was pretty tired. I've been using a lot of magic up recently" I lied, laughing nervously while rubbing the back of my neck.

"Natsu, don't even try to lie to me. I've known you for too long to know when you're bluffing" Lisanna replied, the matter of factly.

Chuckling, I raised my hands and admitted defeat. "Okay, you've got me. Now, why don't we go sit over there and talk?" I offered, pointing to an empty spot on a cliff overlooking the city. Lisanna, spotting the view, nodded excitedly, then returned to the rigid, serious facade she had on earlier.

"You've been underestimating me," Lisanna said, looking at the city lights flickering on and off below us. Confused, I tore my eyes away from the scenery to look at her, a small smile on her lips.  
She took a deep breath and began her explanation. "This whole time, you've been avoiding Lucy, right?" she asked, in which I replied by nodding glumly.

"Well, I don't want that. I'm not the jealous type of girl, you know that, right? I'm happy that you were thinking of me, but..." Lisanna trailed off, a sad look in her eyes. "This wasn't what I wanted. I wanted for us to be together, though our relationship may have changed, i didn't want anything to bedifferent from before. Yet, you go around ignoring Lucy and Happy, making the guild angry by hurting them deliberately, and now you're here, finally realizing the feelings you've held for Lucy."

I blushed, looking away. _I told myself that I couldn't love Lucy, not in a million years, but now look at where I am...I really am a hopeless, dense idiot after all, aren't I?_ I laughed bitterly, recalling all of the times that I had hurt Lucy, consciously and unconsciously.

"Lucy's still family, yet you hurt her, just because you thought that I was too weak to handle the truth. I thought that you trusted me, and I thought that you knew that I trusted you. But you threw all of that away, and now look at what you've put your best friends through." Lisanna continued, her voice slowly turning cold, the small smile she had now gone.

"I...know. I should've known that this was how things were going to end up" I replied, hiding my face. I couldn't bear to meet her eyes. I've never seen Lisanna like this before. Then, I heard her voice crack as she said the next few sentences.

"Well, to be honest... I'm not exactly in the right here either. The truth is... I can't dedicate all my heart into this relationship. That's because... because of someone that I met" Lisanna ended the last few words in a whisper, and it was her who couldn't meet my eyes now. Shee turned to look at me, and I leaned in for one last kiss. Our lips met one last time as i whispered to her, "I'll always love you. Don't forget that" She smiled as we stood up together, and took our own paths. Our journey together was going to stay at a halt for now. _I'm happy that i was able to get that out of my system._

I walked home, the stars gazing upon me, telling me that this was finally the right answer.

Lucy's POV

I blushed as Sting walked me home, silently holding my hand. We walked in silence, but it was a comfortable one. I never thought that someone could make me blush this much, and upon that thought, I just blushed even harder, avoiding Sting's clear blue eyes. Seeing my face, Sting chuckled.

"Well, well, Blondie, I never knew that _you_ would think such dirty things," he said, watching in amusement as my face rivaled a tomato.

"Yeah, yeah. We get it, you're the Great Sting Eucliffe" I muttered, my blush, thankfully, going down a tone.

"Right on the mark, baby!" Sting exclaimed as we, unknowingly, passed by my apartment for the 7th time.

I smiled as he started to ramble on about how great he was when I swore that I could've heard a rustle behind us.

Tugging on his hand, i whispered quietly,"We're being watched"

Sting just grinned, a knowing look in his eye as he replied softly, "You think that I, the Great Sting Eucliffe, didn't know?" Chuckling, we sped up the pace, taking a detour and heading towards Sabertooth. When we heard the rustle again, Sting turned around, annoyed, and shot a holy ray towards the sound, obliterating everything in his path in a 50 foot radius. Natsu then popped up from the bushes, his hands up, and tried to calm down a clearly annoyed Sting, while saying, "Relax, relax. It's just me!" Natsu explained, flashing his signature toothy grin.

I looked up, so surprised from the sudden blast that I didn't notice I was still clinging onto Sting's arm while he held the other arm around me protectively.

"W-what are you doing here?" I questioned as i pulled away, noticing Natsu glare at our position. H then said, cheerfully, "Well, I'm here to take MY Luce home" putting emphasis on the word _my._ Sting sighed, dropped his arm, and then kissed me on the cheek. Before Natsu could glare even harder, and before i could blush even wilder, Sting ran off, shooting a peace sign and sticking his tongue out at the dragon slayer.

I sighed as Sting's figure retreated into the night, and smiled brightly at Natsu, for some reason feeling the tense atmosphere between us now gone.

"What's up?" I managed to choke out the words, looking at Natsu as he looked up. The sudden eye contact made me blush, and I kept my head down as he started to say something.

"I broke up with Lisanna" He said nonchalantly, not missing a single beat as he kept up his fast-paced walking, his face void of any sadness or negative emotions. I was shocked. And here i was beginning to think that they were a pretty good couple. I grew angry, though, as i remembered what heartbreak he put me through, only to disband it like it was nothing only a month later?!

"...Why? You guys were a perfect couple. Everyone in the guild knew it. So why did you break up?!" I said, trying to control the wave of emotions threatening to take over while clenching my fists, my voice rising with every word I spoke. Natsu looked at me for a second, smiled bitterly, then looked forward as if he was searching for something distant, something far off in the future.

"We were lying to each other, and to ourselves" was his simple reply, canceling out all of Lucy's anger and depression, and just leaving her void of emotions.

"O-oh" was all she could stutter out, only to realize that they had reached her apartment. Natsu saw this as well and smiled before waving.

"Bye Luce. See you tomorrow"

"Bye Natsu"

With those simple goodbyes, Lucy felt as if though everything was back to normal, and here they were just Team Natsu again; just friends.

Sting's POV

 _ **A Week Later**_

I felt my heart sink as i realized what day it was. _Today's the last day of Lucy's job here at Sabertooth._ I never realized how i got used to the perky blonde waiting for me in the guild every morning, or giving me all of my now new favorite dishes. I couldn't sleep, so I woke up earlier than usual, hoping to spend as much time as possible by Lucy's side. _Wait, what am i thinking?! Is this...love? No, no, no! The Great Sting Eucliffe doesn't fall in love with girls! NO, it's the girls who fall in love with Sting._ The thought was too complicated to process, and i started down the guild hall stairs from my dorm. What i saw was a sight to behold.

I see Lucy, with butter on her nose, and then i see Rufus, _the same_ Rufus who never laughs, laugh hysterically at Lucy, who was now pouting adorably. Rufus finally calmed down, and he wiped the butter off of Blondie's ( _I was relieved to start calling her Blondie again ,as usual_ ) nose, which in turn made her blush. I grew jealous at the thought of other guys touching her, but i restrained myself. If i did something, then Rufus would surely remember, and use it against me somehow in the future. I clenched my fists, and i could've sworn that i saw Rufus glance at me evilly for a second before continuing to put his arm around Lucy ( _I started calling her Lucy again, dammit. What was wrong with me today?!_ ).

After Rufus ( _finally)_ left, i made my way towards her, only to see Rogue appear next to her. and in the next instant, a stampede of Saber members was stomping me down, only before pushing me out of the way, just to add that on. Everyone surrounded Lucy and started to eat their special breakfast that she made today, and I decided to just saunter down casually, as if i didn't just have a near death experience.

It didn't quite work out as planned, though, and i ended up tripping and falling straight into a face plant into the hard, wooden floor boards. Everybody ignored me, but Lucy came to me, worried. I gave a weak smile, only to see that after helping me up, she was trying to hold in a laugh. I took out the pocket mirror i always had and groaned. My bedhead had managed to pop back into place. As i started to fix it, i heard a camera shot and i looked up to see Lucy walking away slowly, whistling her way through the crowds. Licking my lips in anticipation for the fun chase to come, i shouted, "Come back here, Blondie" I tried to sound angry, but i just couldn't, not at her.

Rogue's POV  
I watched as my partner was laughing hysterically, a huge grin plastered on his face as he chased after Lucy, who was pretty fast. I smiled a bit, too, at my friend's childish antics, and as I was about to turn around, i felt a tug at the bottom of my pants.

Sighing, I picked up the exceed and propped him ( **Anyone know Frosch's Gender?)** up on my shoulder. "Do you need something, Frosch?" I asked, petting the cute exceed's head.

"Ne, ne. Fro wants to play, too!" I looked over to where Fro was pointing, only to see Sting standing victoriously over Lucy, Lector praising him, and a photograph in his hands. Smiling to myself, i whispered, "Okay, let's play"

Morphing into the shadows, i appeared and snatched the picture out of Sting's hands, only to be blessed with the sight of an embarrassing photo so funny that it made me laugh. Sting and Lucy stared at me wide- eyed since they never head me laugh, but decided to join in, too, and soon, we were all laughing. With all of the chaos, i slightly tugged Lucy's hand, and made some gestures, which she understood. The same evil smile graced both of our lips as we snuck away, only to leave Sting, Lector, and Fro laughing by themselves until they perked up and said in unison, "Eh?"

We ran to the Fairy Tail guild, where everyone stared at us and then greeted me politely. Lucy pulled out one of the lacrimas that she always carried around, and plugged the photo into lacrima vision. The guild stared for a moment, before erupting into laughter .Snickering, Lucy inserted the photo that she took from last time, too, only to get an even bigger response from the audience. _If there's one thing we have in common, it's that we both love to embarrass Sting_ , I thought, flashing a smile her way. She blushed a little, and it caused something in me to move. _I need to make her blush again_ , i immediately thought to myself, only to shake away the thoughts and blush at my reaction. I glanced over to the side where Lucy was smiling brightly. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, i shrugged. _Damn, this woman made me laugh two times today, and made me smile in a way i never thought possible. Not even Sting could do that_. With this in mind, i decided on one thing. Lucy' s light was way brighter than Sting's. And it stirred something within him, something that took away the emotionless facade that thee well known Rogue Cheney had pulled off since forever. He smiled to himself once more, knowing that they would be great friends ins the future.


	6. Death Reaper: A New Mission

Rogue's POV

I walked with Sting, occasionally glancing over at my friend's dreamlike daze.

"Sting?" I called out, looking over at the pile of desk work sitting before me, all of which was undone.

"Sting?" I asked again, getting slightly annoyed. I once again glanced over at the papers, they were just calling out to be done. Agitated, I yelled out in his ear, knowing that his dragon senses would pick it up.

"STING!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. I got a positive reaction, Sting's head perking up as sparkles that once surrounded his angel like aura now disappearing. Sting looked over, still in a happy mood, not even mentioning the rude way I woke him up,

"Ne, Rogue, let's go on a mission! Oh, yeah, we can go on one of those big inter team ones! Yeah, an exciting one to be sure!" Sting exclaimed, getting up, the sparkles surrounding him once again as he nodded to himself, as if he just thought of a brilliant idea. Sighing inwardly, I grabbed his wrist, sat him down, and let my inner dragon come out as I scolded him.

"You IDIOT! Do you not see the pile of paperwork here?! We are NOT going on a mission. You are going to do YOUR deskwork. And I'M going to do what I need to. So, suck it up, stop PROCRASTINATING, and DO. YOUR. WORK. YOU. IMBECILE!" I shouted, a deathly aura emitting from me as my usual calm complexion twisted into one of utter and complete annoyance. I was only like this with Sting, letting my real feelings show. _Well, not anymore_ , a tiny voice in my head spoke up, making me recall a blonde celestial spirit mage.

"Hey, if I finish this, can we go on a mission with Lucy?" Sting piped up, all of a sudden springing bac into action from the scolding. Thinking about it, it wasn't a bad idea, and it would also motivate Sting to do all of his work. Grunting, I silently nodded as I picked up my book and went to sit in the corner of the room to read, looking over occasionally to make sure that Sting did his work.

Sting's POV  
With this new motivation, I started to work, and I went through the pile of papers as quick as a true tiger. One of another, the papers started to vanish as they were stamped, approved, and billed for as they went, being shoved into the transportation lacrima. I was so serious that I woke up my Dragon Force, and the papers went flying even quicker than they had before. In mere minutes, the once cluttered room was now sparkling clean, being rid of all of the bills and paperwork.

"Done!" I exclaimed, earning a stare from a wide eyed Rogue. Rogue just sighed, and just closed his book.

"I'll go buy some supplies and ask Lucy to join us" was his reply, and he stood up and left me there, apparently to choose the job. Seeing that Rogue always chose the job, I was excited.

"Woo-hoo!" I shouted happily to myself, running down to the main hall to choose some exciting job.

~At the Guild Hall~  
I looked over the request board, when I spotted something that caught my eye.

 _A group of mages have been attacking the town. Take them down and we'll offer a reward of 50,000,000 Jewel. Under the King's name, the royal family asks for assistance._

Taking the flyer, I just walked out the hall, not needing anyone to approve my missions. As I headed out, I called over my shoulder, "While I'm gone, I make Minerva in charge! See ya fools later!" I stuck my hands in my pants pockets, and continued to walk, my nose leading me to a nearby coffee shop.

Lucy's POV

I was laughing with everyone in the guild, as usual, and everyone were throwing chairs and tables at each other, getting into brawls, and just laughing everyone else like fools they were. I smiled as I sat down at the bar, getting my usual as I sparked up a conversation with Levy about my novel.

"So, Lu-Chan, about your novel-"her voice was cut off as the guild doors bust open, and a shadow dragon slayer stepped into view. Everyone quieted down, that was, at least until everyone started to shout greetings at Rogue, before continuing their usual boisterous attitude.

Rogue morphed into the shadows, wanting to avoid the commotion, and appeared next to me, earning a shriek from Levy, a gasp from Mira, and some wide eyed stares from everyone else.

"Woah! He just freaking teleported!" Romeo shouted, never having seen Rogue's power up close. Laughing, Macao put his hand around the said boy and replied, "Well, that's Rogue for you. Pretty cool, eh?" He earned a cheer from the mages, and everyone started to pipe in.

"Rogue is a MAN!" shouted you know who.

"GAAAAH! HE'S SO COOL! HE WOULD BE THE PERFECT HUSBAND FOR…" shouted from also you know who.

"He seems like he can enjoy a good book" Levy said, nodding Rogue's way as she quickly returned to her own literature.

"Rogue, fight me!" Natsu shouted, his hands being set aflame. Rogue politely bowed to everyone, declined their offers for fight and entertainment, and started his way towards me again.

Sighing and fiddling with a piece of his hair, Rogue's eyes met mine as he took a deep breath.

"Sting and I want you to come one an inter guild mission with us" Rogue said, sticking his hands in his pockets, looking away. Nodding excitedly, I grinned.

"Sure, why not? I also need some rent money for this month" I replied, touching my keys and rearing my whip. I heard cries of protest from Team Natsu, but I waved them off and took Rogue's hand.

"Bye, guys! See you later!" And with that, I tugged him, and we ran away from the protesting guild as the doors shut behind us.

Natsu's POV

I don't know what just happened.

Sting's POV

I don't what had happened, but when I saw Lucy holding Rogue's hand, I got angry. Not wanting to lash out at my best friend, though, I just held the flyer up, putting on a forced smile.

"I found a job to kick some bad ass butt. If you wanted to compare the group we're after to anyone else, it's gotta be… The Oracion Seis" Sting said, breaking out of the thinking pose he held. Lucy laughed at his childish antics, and took the flyer out of his hands, examining it. She grinned when she looked at the reward money. I could hear her mutter under her breath, "Thank _God_ these two aren't Natsu" I knew what she meant by that and sweat dropped. _The idiot probably used all of the reward money to pay for the damage,_ I thought, face palming. As my thought reeled on, I began to think about why I even invited Lucy. Frowning, I dismissed all thought of being in… _love,_ and I thought that maybe it was because she was a good friend. _Yeah, yeah, that's probably it. I make friends easily. No way would the Great Sting Eucliffe fall in love. If anything, she's fallen for me, and probably gave me some weird potion in my food or something._ Nodding my head in satisfaction, I continued along my way, only just realizing that I had stopped midway, and that Lucy and Rogue were far ahead of me. Running to catch up, I smiled to myself. _This is going to be fun_.

Lucy's POV

I laughed as I watched Sting suffer from his motion sickness, and watched as Rogue rubbing his temples and clenched his fists, probably not wanting to look indecent in front of me. Chuckling, I placed Rogue's head on my shoulder, where he leaned in comfortably, not even questioning it. I then placed Sting's head on my lap, and began to play with his soft, blonde hair. He fell asleep (woah, that was fast) and started to snore quietly. Rogue started to nod off as well, and I smiled at the two's innocent expressions. When I finally came to terms with reality, though, I realized the position that I was in. _When did I become a resting place for dragon slayers?_

Natsu' POV

The rest of Team Natsu and I silently made our way onto the train, where the thought of motion itself almost made me throw up. Toughing it out, though, I looked for signs of Lucy and the other two. We had secretly followed them because the way that they suddenly requested to go on a mission was weird, and we wanted to know what was up. Oh, and also, there was no way I was letting that lightbulb and emo dragon slayers take away MY Luce.

"Do you smell her?" Erza asked, also on the lookout.

"I don't know where she could be" replied Gray, who was calmly kicking down doors of train cabins and bathrooms. Sniffing the air, I caught her scent, and when the others noticed it, they silently followed me. I smelt her, she was so close. I grinned to myself. Not even having to look, we sat in the booth across and up one from where Lucy was sitting. The others followed suit, but when they looked behind me, they turned pale.

"What? What's the matter?" I questioned, frowning. I thought this was going to be more epic, and little fun, maybe. But the looks that my friends were giving me obviously told otherwise. I turned around, with a bunch of loud protests from Gray, threats from Erza, and snickering from Happy, and, ignoring them, my eyes turned wide.

In MY special spot on MY Luce's lap, there was Sting freaking Eucliffe, nuzzling closer to her and even haing the nerve to wrap his arms around her waist. And on MY Luce's shoulder was Rogue freaking Cheney, his head comfortably nuzzled into her neck, as he purred in his sleep and basically had her sitting on his lap. I growled, but Erza restrained me, but, seeing that there was no other way to go about it, which there probably was, she knocked me out cold.

Erza's POV

Once Natsu was out cold, I looked over to Lucy, who still hadn't realized we were there. I smiled a bit at the scene, the dragon slayers leaning on her actually made a pretty cute sight, and the way she was smiling made the picture all the sweeter. I couldn't feel mad at the dragon slayers, and I wasn't as overprotective as usual. Then, I realized something, and then regained my usual composure, glaring their way. _What if they're using her just for her body? I mean, the way he's grabbing her waist should imply it all. And, if I say so myself, Lucy's pretty smoking hot. They're probably going to knock her out during the mission and tie her up. Tie her up…? Oh my god, they're totally going to…_ Erza pictured the dirty scene in her mind, and gasped in horror. "ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod" I muttered under my breath, earning strange looks from the other conscious two. Clearing my throat, I focused in on Lucy once more and just kept watching her intently, occasionally hiding my face behind a magazine every time she turned around.

Lucy's POV

We finally reached our destination, where the other two groggily got off and stretched their sore limbs. As I looked around, I sensed a strong magical energy coming from the forest, and the dragon slayers perked up as well, also probably sensing the enormous power radiating off of the forest. They nodded at me, and we started to run into the foliage, swift and unknown, silent as the trees covered our backs. Before I could run any further, though, Rogue stopped me by tugging my hand. He pointed to a cave, and suggested that we set up a camp, seeing that we arrived very late anyway. I saw his point, and I just followed him, along with Rogue, as we cleared out a space to set up our stuff.

It was really dark now, and Rogue was contently humming to himself in a corner, while his partner was whining about how dark it was, the only source of light that we had coming off of his magical energy.

"Sting, you should stop doing that, you'll drain all of your energy" I said, noticing that he was beginning to pale. As he shook his head weakly, the light went out, leaving us in pitch darkness.

"Star Dress Requip: Saggitarius" I summoned my star dress, and using one of my arrows, I shot one at its quickest speed, immediately lighting a fire due to the intense friction.

Looking at me, smirking, Sting gave me a thumbs up, in which I gave back in return. Changing to my normal clothes, I shifted through my pack until I found some meat that I had bought from the store earlier today, and I began cooking it over the fire, occasionally turning over the make shift spit that I had created. As the meat cooked, I got some spices I brought from home and began to season the food, also chopping up some vegetables to roast. With the smell of food wafting through the air, the two dragon slayers immediately perked up, looking around for the source of the smell. Sting was drooling as he spotted the cooking meat, and Rogue just sighed, scooting over to me as he examined my handiwork.

"You know, you could've woken me up to help. I'm pretty good at these things" Rogue made a point, sounding a little offended that I hadn't asked for his help. Laughing, I waved off his offer.

"Yeah, whatever. You guys needed the rest, so I let you have it" I replied, taking the meat off of the fire and picking up some leaves, cleaning them with water to make temporary plates. As I plated the food, I heard Rogue's stomach growled, in which I responded with a giggle. I handed the food to the other two, and took my own helping, breaking off pieces of meat slowly.

We all ate our food in silence, grateful that at least _someone_ had remembered to bring some food rations. As I chewed my food, I looked out of the opening of the cave, the outside being completely covered in darkness, the fire casting but a soft glow outside the cave's mouth. I brushed my hands across my keys, knowing that they would keep me safe, despite the dangers that we would have to face outside eventually. We all sat in a comfortable silence, which was soon disrupted, though, by a rustling sound. We all immediately jumped to our feet, Sting and Rogue having already immersed their body in their magic, while I held out my keys and reared my whip defensively. I looked over to the guys, and nodded slowly. And, as if on cue, we all bolted, tackling the mysterious figure we caught watching us with all of our force.

The person chuckled, and they were obviously a man. As he stripped off his cloak, I saw his eyes were pitch black, while strange markings were etched into his face.

"Stars! Combine with my strength, and shine on brightly… I call forth the power of the spirits, I am your true ruler, and my aspect is purity. Radiate! Tatalus Extoria!" I yelled out the new spell that I had acquired a while back, a huge, gold magic circle appearing under my feet. As soon as the spell was cast, my clothes melted to gold armor, similar to my Leo Star Dress transformation, but more intricate, with silver lining and a sword to fit in my hand. As a huge beam of celestial energy shot up, and before the man could move away, Sting hit him with his stigma, rendering him paralyzed. A humungous beam shot forth, almost blinding my friends, but it hit the enemy square in the chest, sending him flying. I was still cautious, so I sent myself forward, slashing the man with my sword multiple times, knocking him down every time he tried to stand back up. I was unwilling to let myself be tricked again by leaving the enemy alone. Grabbing the man's collar, I stared into his black orbs, not once flinching or looking away. I ignored he stares of my teammates as I pushed him against a tree. Whispering so that my voice was barely audible, I threatened him.

"Who are you and where do you come from? Where are the others, If you don't tell me, I think you're smart enough to figure out what'll happen to you" Rearing back my glowing fist, my voice filled with an unfamiliar malice no one has ever heard before.

"We're…we're Death Reaper…the…the others are hiding in a, in a cave nearby somewhere. Th-they are probably moving, since they are being aware of my defeat. We..we just want to be known for something. We-we were all outcasts, in t-the shadows of everyone else, never noticed. W-we just wanted a-a chance in the spotlight" the man said weakly, blood making its way down his chin. My gaze softening at his heartfelt story, I loosened my grip, and propped him up properly against the tree.

"And what may your name be?" I asked, my voice kinder, knowing that the mage didn't have a lot o time left. As I tried to talk to him to get his mind off of the pain, I used the soul searching magic that I learned from a friend, and began to try and uncover the secrets behind the man's past.

"M-my name is Aleci" Aleci said, coughing up even more blood. Tears pooled at the corners of his eyes, and I wiped them away softly with my thumb. Hearing Aleci's breathing soften, and then finally hearing it fade, I closed his eyes with my forefinger, and whispered a goodbye, paying my respects to the life I had just taken. I had killed before, but I learned that life was precious, and needed to be respected.

I picked up some nearby flowers and leaves, and made an arrangement of sorts, covering Aleci's body with the colorful beauties, and making a sort of gravesite for the poor fellow. After hearing his story, I felt bad for him, I really did. _But that doesn't mean what they're doing is right_ I hought to myself, fixing my priorities. I stood up, only to see Sting and Rogue with their heads down, also paying respects fro the man. Once they were done, we quietly made our way back to camp to decide what our next move was going to be.

 **At the Cave**

We sat in a circle over the fire, huddling together as the sun rose outside. As Rogue and Sting were trying to decide whether to sneak or barge into the enemy's base, I rolled my eyes and reminded them, "We have to find the base first, you idiots" Rogue blushed and mumbled an apology, while Sting looked confused for a moment, before responding.

Tapping his fist against the flat of his palm, he seemed to understand what I said.

"Oh, that's right. You know, finding their base isn't such a bad idea" Sting pointed out, smiling happily as if he was the smartest person in the world. Both Rogue and I looked at him, thinking, _How are you such an idiot, idiot?_

I quickly pulled out some bacon that I brought over, and setting out some cooking tools, I started to cook some bacon, while making a fruit arrangement out of berries and plants that I found outside. As the bacon was cooking, I stepped outside to the mouth of the cave, and quickly picked some strawberries and mint that I found from a bush nearby. As I took a knife from out of my pocket, I chopped up the strawberries, and then summoned Virgo, who took the fruit and returned from the spirit world. I realized that I could've asked her to make breakfast, but I just shrugged. A few seconds later, Virgo came with an extra large strawberry smoothie, and some mint gum that she quickly whipped up (In which I have no idea how she did that but I was grateful nonetheless since my breath was _really_ stinky. I finished cooking the food and handed it out, also giving the boys some of the gum to have to freshen up their breaths later, as well as kindly offering them to share some of my smoothie. As the boys began to bicker once again, I finished up eating, and quietly walked to a nearby lake to wash up. I thought of Virgo, and she appeared, bath robe in hand as well as my hair cosmetics and light makeup, and then she disappeared, not forgetting the usual, "Punishment, Princess?" I smiled as I thought of all the new skills I gained, while stepping into the surprisingly warm water as I began to wash myself, enjoying the soak.

 **Time Skip**

I changed after the bathe, and returned to camp, only o find the two boys waiting for me, secretly helping them selves to more of my smoothie. They retreated not s subtly as I came back, but I shrugged it off as I let my hair down from the usual side pony tail. Feeling the wind in my hair was great, ad I smiled at the two, excited to share the new idea that I came up with during my bath.

"Hey, guys…" I trailed off, catching their attention. Smiling to myself, I continued.

"I think I know how to defeat Death Reaper"

 **Sorry that I didn't update the last couple of days. I had a lot of performances, and my computer's data was also full, so had to switch the computer that I was originally working on for this story. I have midwinter break now, though, so I'll be sure to get a lot of writing in. Thanks for being patient.**

 **~FatedGateway**


	7. Rings of the Elements

**Disclaimer: I don not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima/All copyright rules apply.**

Rogue's POV  
"I think I know how to defeat Death Reaper" Lucy said, her eyes showing excitement as she flashed a grin our way. I stopped midway from trying to draw a map o listen to the Celestial Spirit mage.

"Well, how are we gonna do it, Blondie?" Sting questioned impatiently, totally ruining the dramatic mood that was set. Mentally slamming my head against the wall, I turned to Lucy, in which I just nodded her way in signal to go on.

"Well, I was reading into Aleci and the Death Reapers using some ancient Soul Searcher magic, which is a story for another time, but… Well it would be easier to sow you rather than tell you, and I want to see what you think of it yourselves" Lucy said, wringing her hands and looking to the side. I was confused. Soul Searching magic was a lost art, something even Rufus didn't know much about. Trying to hide the surprise on my face, I remained expressionless and turned to Sting, who also had a serious look on his face.

"Well, then, if you're ready, I'm going to project some images into your minds" Lucy said quite calmly before muttering something even my dragon senses could pick up. As a huge, green magic circle appeared over Lucy, I clutched my head.

Different memories and all sorts of information flickered through my mind. Most were gruesome, ad only a select few were bearable. My breath was taken away as I saw what was being put before me. There was a battle, and as I closed my eyes, I seemed to be standing in the battle grounds itself. There was a war, which was between two small armies, but there was so much magical energy flowing through the air. As I looked to the right, I saw a flag with the guild mark that Aleci had worn. The mages were being beaten brutally by the soldiers of Fiore, and they were snickering maniacally. There stood Aleci, using sand magic, forming and reforming into the ground beneath him, yet still suffering. The opponent only smirked, and he just stood there, not doing anything, yet he was beating Aleci mercilessly by just sticking his fist out. I looked to the other small battles, and examined all of the other mages being in the same tight spot. All of the soldiers just stuck their fists out, yet the mages were getting beaten. And badly. Taking this opportunity, I examined the different magic's. Sand, earth, storm, wind. All of them were strong, and few mages have been able to master those types of magic. I shifted my attention to the soldiers, and examined them, trying to find the source of their power. _Weird… back then, I thought the soldiers of Fiore didn't have magic…_ I thought to myself. That's when I found something that they all had in common. On their fingers were magical rings of an opposing element. Sand to water, Sky to earth, Barrier to wind, and Peace to storm. As the image melted away, I opened my eyes, only to find myself in the cav. Sting and Lucy were there, too, and we knew that we had one ultimate goal, and that was to find these rings. _The answer should've been obvious. Cancel one magic with another…_

Sting's POV

I didn't question all of the forms of magic that Lucy possessed, but instead thought about how we were going to do this.

"Yo, how are we going to even _find_ the rings in the first place?" Rogue nodded, and we looked at Lucy, who sighed.

"Hibiki taught me some archive magic, and when I looked up the rings, it said that they were apparently broken, so we'll either have to make our own, or learn and master new magic forms before Death Reaper makes their move" Lucy replied, looking down.

 _Well, that's just great. Guess we can kiss our butts goodbye_. Perking up, I asked a question, "Why can't we just use our normal magic to defeat them?" Lucy and Rogue looked at me as if that was the stupidest thing that they've ever heard.

"Sting, did you notice what time period that that battle took place in?" Rogue askd, deadpanning. Thinking about it, it looked as if the place was Magnolia about 100 years ago. Yeah, it looked like that in the history books, too…oh. So they were immortal. Well, that was a surprise. The other two just face palmed as they saw the realization on my face.

"The battle never ended. Death Reaper ended up retreating, and they wouldn't do that if they had to. And, considering that Aleci was there, I'm positive that the other members are still here, too. In other words, I'm positive that we can win if we had the opposing elements. We just need o make so that they don't escape" Lucy said, answering all of the question that were in my head previous. I nodded numbly, and I slumped down in my seat, as did Rogue. Lucy chuckled nervously.

"Hehe, that spell must've taken its affect on you two. Well, you guys should rest for now, I'll have lunch ready by the time you wake up" And with that, the two dragon slayers of Sabertooth fell into a deep slumber.

Lucy's POV  
When the boys fell to sleep, I used my other type of magic. It was true, during those 3 months that Natsu left me alone, I learned a lot of things from other mages that I met on jobs and missions.

"Ruler of the Earth, the Sea, and the Sky, I call upon you to bring forth the cards of the elements, and as they shine I beckon you to my aide. With the balance of the world and opposing life forces, may my aspect be nothingness, and I call forth this new power… Elemental Train!" I shouted out the spell, not waking up the dragon slayers, and called forth my elemental car magic. As al the cards of every element spread themselves out, I looked at each one of them, and I began focusing on how I could make those rings.

"I call forth the elements of Water, Earth, and the Sky, and I beckon forth the aspect of protection" I called out, and the said cards drifted towards me. Going to the regular pile of cards, I picked out the elements, and then I wandered to the Cards of Aspects, where I picked protection. Barriers weren't considered an element, but more like an aspect, because it is an aspect of life and survival. Then I brought forth the elements of fire and iron, and then ended the spell, sending the rest of the cards away. I sighed, and looked at the sun, which was now fully risen up to the air. Summoning Virgo with brush of my hands, she brought me ingredients as I lit a fire and began to cook.

 **Time Skip to After Lunch**

I told the boys as they were eating to leave the rings to me, and hey just nodded, confused. We finished our meal, and then we all headed out to the lake to wash up, having created a wall of sorts out of stones. Well…at least Virgo did, exclaiming that my innocence was something to be treasured while Loke, or Leo as I should say, flirted with m and sent occasional glares to the other two. I sighed as I slipped into the warm waters, which I have been doing a lot recently, and began to rinse myself, still thinking o the problem at hand.

 _There are three of us, but there are four different elements…it just doesn't match up. Maybe I should include all four elements in 3 separate rings, so that we can fight any opponent and so that we get a boost in power? How am I even going to make the rings? The spirits can't help since they would have to handle other types of magic, so have to do his myself, right? No way am I leaving this up to Sting, and Rogue seems like he doesn't want to be bothered…_

My thoughts trailed off as I finished drying myself, and I quickly changed into my sleeping outfit to skip back to the cave. When I got back, I laid out some leftovers from lunch, and then pulled out some donuts and coffee from a little bag that I brought to have for after dinner; I had been saving this for dessert, and it wouldn't hurt to share.

When everyone had gotten back, we all ate in a comfortable silence, and we were content at what we had accomplished that day. WE all settled down after making some idle chat, and then we all went to bed as the moon started to rise.

 **The Next Morning**

I quietly woke up at 5 and summoned the elemental cards that I had picked out yesterday. Using fire and iron, I made a workbench to craft the rings. I decided that if I was going to do this, I would at least make the rings fashionable. So, using my knowledge from what I learned from watching a blacksmith when I grew I up, I forged normal rings, void of magic. For Sting, there was an intricate, white dragon that faced the right, and Rogue had the same dragon in black, facing the left. For me, there were two dragons, circling each other, one black, and one white. I stretched out as I finished the details of the rings, which took me 2 hours to complete, with having Capricorn as my guide, who occasionally sprung up to tell me that I did something wrong. I knew that Sabers were late sleepers, so I figured that I had at least another hour before Sting and Rogue woke up. Dismissing fire and iron, I pulled out the four other elements, and quickly casted a spell so that I could absotb the powers. As I transferred the energy into the rings, the crests started to glow, Sting's blue, Rogue's red, and mine gold. The rings started to reshape themselves, and the dragons all turned even more intricate, with jeweled linings of sapphire, ruby, and pure crystal.

 _Are you telling me that I didn't have to bother with the details?! I could've made a regular ring and it would've had the same result?!  
_ Slightly annoyed, puffed out a breath of air as I made breakfast, and the smell of meat stirred the boys. I looked over as they immediately jumped up, and giggled quietly at their silly ways. I couldn't stop the smiling spreading on my face.

Rogue's POV

Food. I smelled food. Food was a good sign. That was what went through my mind as I stumbled towards Lucy with Sting, both of us sighing in unison as we took bites of the heavenly meal. I will admit, Lucy was a pretty damn good cook. I noticed her smiling at us, and I blushed a bit before looking away. As we all ate together, obviously hungry, Lucy broke the silence, her voice as cheerful as always.

"I made the rings. They have the needed elements in them, and to summon which particular element you want to use, just envision that element, or if you want to use all of them at once, just recite the spell, I call forth all of the elements, Eltaria!" Lucy said calmly before resuming to bite on her sausage.

Sting spit out his food and exclaimed, "You made the rings?! How, when, and where?!" Sting asked, clearly flabbergasted. I was wondering the same thing, and couldn't keep the curiosity out of my eyes.

"I woke up early, and used my elemental card magic, and-"

"YOUR WHAT?!"

"My elemental card magic, as I was saying, and I forged the rings, then-"

"WHAT?! HOW?! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ELLA BUSSINESS? LUCY, ARE YOU-"

I smacked Sting on the head and sat him down next to me, where I covered my hand over his overly energetic and annoying mouth.

"Go on" I said, also curious.

She looked surprised at my sudden words, but then nodded.

"I was taught elemental card magic from a friend of mine, and I was able to use them to forge some rings as well as plug in the elements. The same thing with the soul searching magic. A friend taught me" Lucy replied simply while tossing Sting and I something. Catching it in my hand, I looked down to see an intricate ring, with a beautiful black dragon with ruby lining.

"They glow when the magic is used. But for today, we're going to practice using the rings. I don't want to have an embarrassing fail while fighting because we don't remember how the thing works" Lucy explained while giving Sting a small glance, obviously referring to Mr. Einstein over there, who apparently forgot that we left the exceeds at the guild and was crying for Lector. I face palmed, which Sting has been making me do a lot recently. I just face palmed again at _that_ fact. Slipping on the ring, I dragged Sting by his hair as I followed Lucy, who was already way ahead of us.

We arrived to a clearing in the forest, which was a pretty nice spot, must I say so myself. Lucy slipped on her ring and turned around to face us.

"Okay, boys. The first thing you need to do is to envision the element that you're using, and then to envision that it's just an attachment to your body, and then you can use and manipulate that element to your free will. We'll focus on doing combination later" She pointed to me. "Fire" She pointed to Sting. "Water" We both nodded, and began to focus on the element given to us. I stared in surprise as a small flame shot out of my hand, and then died down. Sting got the same effect, except that he hot himself with a spurt of water and was now trying to wipe his face, embarrassed. Sting then yelled at Lucy, who was laughing her butt off.

"Well, if you're so god, the you try it!"Sting challenged. When Lucy smirked, I just backed away and hid behind a tree, knowing that this was not going to end up well. Shouting out to Lucy, I suggested," Can you please aim over there and not at my face? That would be great, thanks" I said as I held onto the tree.

Lucy closed her eyes, and a strong, brilliant flame erupted from one hand, while a huge swirl of water erupted from the other. I saw Sting pale, and he vigorously shook his head no when Lucy offered some further demonstration.

"Okay, now no more disruptions… Get to work!" Lucy barked, and we both nodded, knowing that we shouldn't get onto her bad side.

For the rest of the day, we worked on summoning elements, elemental combinations, and then finally summoning all of the elements at once. It was tough, but I put on a strong front, and so did Sting, since we didn't want to lose to Lucy, who barely broke a sweat. When we finally mastered it, Lucy was smiling from ear to ear, and Sting just kept on announcing to the bored trees that he was the beast mage in Fiore.

Lucy walked over to me, and then she did something unexpected. She handed me some water, and she patted my head. Leaning in, she whispered in my ear, "Good job. You look tired, so why don't we all head back to the cave to rest?" I was blushing madly, and I just nodded my head, still not leaving Lucy's side even though I didn't want her to see me blush. We got to the cave and ate dinner, then went o bed early since we would probably have our first encounter tomorrow. With that in mind, I fell asleep the second my head hit my pillow.

 **In the Morning**

I turned in my sleep, and found something warm and comfy. Holding it against my chest, I snuggled closer to it, inhaling the oddly familiar scent of strawberries. When I felt it squirm and try to escape, I just held onto it tighter, refusing to open my eyes and wake up. That's when it hit me. Why was it _squirming?_ My eyes shot open, only to see that I was snuggling with a very flustered and embarrassed Lucy Heartfilia. Scrambling away from her, I apologized and backed up against a wall.

She muttered under her breath, but I could clearly hear what she was saying.

"It's okay…it was really warm, and comfy, and you're really mus-" Lucy cut herself off, to see that I was listening, in which I pretended to look out the cave and whistle innocently. However, that failed, because, oh, I don't know, I never _whistle?!_ Why did I even whistle in the first place? Whistling is a waste of time in this crucial situation. What should I do? We just stared at each other awkwardly for a few minutes, then Sting woke up, put his arm around Lucy, and blew into her ear, which made her jump, made Sting laugh, and made me feel some sort of constricting sensation in the place where my heart is supposed to be. This was going to be some weird day.

Lucy's POV

Loke popped up, and I ran to him , wrapping my arms around his neck, not wanting anything else unexpected to happen with the two slayers. Loke just continued to flirt with me, fantasizing our wedding, when I turned around and saw two _very angry_ dragon slayers. They were glaring at our position, in which I was holding onto Loke for dear life, but I shook it off, thinking that it was just some friendly rivalry. I didn't know if I was stupid or something, but anybody could clearly see that this wasn't _friendly_ at all. I just shrugged it off as I summoned Virgo to get us breakfast, and sent the two spirits back to their world, reminding them to save their energy for when the battle began. I smiled to myself and looked down at my ring, and I saw the boys do it as well.

 _Are you ready, Death Reaper? Cause we're gonna kick some bad guy butt!_


	8. End of Death Reaper

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. Copyright Laws apply and all rights go to HIro Mashima.**

Natu's POV  
We tried to follow them through the forest but we kind of got sidetracked, and… Put simply, we were lost.

Lucy's POV

I stretched a bit as I tried to think of how many ways this mission could go wrong. There were many. I glanced at the two sleeping dragon slayers, who were still sleeping, though, and all my fears vanished. While Sting may not be the _brightest_ star and while Rogue may not be the most _talkative_ person, I knew that they were strong, there was no doubt about that. Yet, I still felt some doubts lingering as I chewed on my apple. I had been thinking a lot, and I woke up early, so I decided not to go back to bed, and to just think about what we could do in terms of a battle plan.

I recalled all the information I had uploaded, and went over it in my head. _Aleci the sandstormer, one down three to go. Then there was Menaili the stormbringer. Trentor the earthshaker, and finally, Cinder the windwaker. Wow, they have cool names. What would I be? Lucy the…_ I shook away my thoughts as I began to get sidetracked.

 _Menaili and Trentor are the most straightforward opponents, since we have opposing elements that are stronger, we just need to attack. For Cinder, though, it seems that we only have a defense, so we need an offense. Unless… Wait! There are three opponents, so it divides up evenly, so...I DIDN'T HAVE TO PLUG IN ALL FOUR ELEMENTS?!  
_ I tried to calm myself down and tried not to get sidetracked, but it was all in vain. I noticed Rogue starting to get up, too, so I thought that I would think about it as I washed up. Sighing, I put out breakfast, which of course immediately woke up Sting as well, and I began to tell them what I thought we should do.

"Guys, no matter what, I you face Cinder, just run away. I want to deal with her, because I don't think that I can distribute the magic needed in order to defeat her in between all of us. Sting, his mouth full, just replied, "Hell no! I aint running away! I am, after al, the Great Sting Eucliffe!" I just sent him a glare, in response he immediately gulped, mumbled a quiet agreement, and then proceeded to hide behind Rogue. Rogue just nodded, and continued his civilized way of eating, while Sting, behind him, just kept eating like a madman, food going everywhere. _No wonder he eats all of the time. Half of the food doesn't even go in his mouth…_ When we were done eating, we split to go wash up and pack our things, since we were planning on moving, and we couldn't always make the long walk back to the cave, While I was washing myself, though, a breeze passed by, and then I immediately knew how to deal with Cinder. Element decomposition.

Sting's POV

"I'm telling you, man, Lucy's glare rivals Minerva's and Erza's. She's scary when she's mad~" I complained, still shivering from the experience, as I washed myself, looking over my shoulder to Rogue, who was just smashing his head into a rock.

"Ne, Rogue, why are you doing that?" I questioned, watching as Rogue continued to make a dent in the said rock.

"Because you're an idiot" was the reply he gave, and I felt a tick mark growing on my forehead. As I started to rinse myself off, _man was his celestial soap Lucy had good,_ I let my thoughts wander to what Lucy said before.

 _Why would she want to face Cinder by herself? From what it seems, it looks like Cinder was the strongest one. If anything, we should all defeat her together… But what's some barrier going to do? Why can't we use our regular magic?_ With this last question, I remembered a conversation that I had with the other two regarding it.

FLASHBACK

 _"Our regular magic is too weak to be able to defeat them. They're centuries old, and have access to lost techniques and spells that we don't. That's why we have to cancel their powers" Lucy said, pointing to a chart she made in the dirt._

 _"But if we cancel the powers out, won't nothing happen, and the magic will just expel?" I asked, confused._

 _"The magic we have is far more advanced, so we should be able to overpower them. Also, if it does happen, it'll all come down to hand to hand combat, which you guys are excellent in I watched you during the Grand Magic Games" Lucy replied, earning a blush from Rogue and I._

FLASHBACK END

I still didn't fully understand, but I was able to get the gist of it. I wasn't realy good with technical details. The closest thing that I've ever had was to charge into a full-blown army by myself, hoping for the best. Let's just say that it didn't turn out so well. I dried myself off and put on some new clothes, and Rogue did the same. I glanced over, expecting to see the same stoic face as usual, but I was surprised. Rogue was _blushing._ The Rogue Cheney was _blushing_. I've seen him blush before, sure, but he was smiling. I was shocked. Worried, I began to pace around in my mind. _The world is ending! Does he think hat there's no hope for us? He's probably saying his final farewells to everyone in his head. Wait, what if he's sick...Oh on, not now. Rogue's lost his mind! What will we do?! I don't wanna get lucy kicked~_

Rogue's POV

I was thinking of Lucy, and how she was always so cheerful. I heard a lot of noise, and when I looked over, Sting was pacing around frantically, clutching his head and occasionally bumping into something and falling. _Is this dude stupid?_

Lucy's POV

When we regrouped, I handed out a couple flare guns to notify each other of our locations, and we each carried a communication lacrima. With that, we wished each other good luck and went our separate ways. I activated Loke's stealth mode, which helps me move around quietly and quickly, and began to make my way through the forest. I jumped from tree to tree, not wanting to take the risk of getting caught in a trap on the ground or being targeted from above. The leaves covered me, and most of my time was in the air, so I made little noise. I had to admit, it was also pretty fun, jumping around like that. Chewing some gum to help me calm down, I slowed down my jumping, not wanting to waste my energy. I then resorted to walking again, and I was on guard, twitching at every movement, sound, or sight. My communication lacrima went off after about 30 minutes, and my earpiece picked up Rogue.

"I found one"

Rogue's POV

I saw her, Menaili or whatever, the storm mage. I don't really know how the element of Earth was supposed to bring her down, but then I realized it. The aspect of Earth, life, and in turn is always in balance, and lives together in peace. I knew that Lucy was hiding something when she said that we had to unlock the powers for ourselves. I wasn't supposed to use the actual Earth element against the storm, but an aspect of Earth, which was peace. I smiled to myself. _You've outdone yourself this time, Lucy._ I merged with the shadows, and was unseen, this clearing in the forest being extremely shady. As I began to rise, I thought of the Earth, and I thought of the balance and harmony of it all. As I did, my ring started to glow a ruby red, and I smiled. I called out a spell that I Lucy taught us before. I fully rose, and Menaili looked back in surprise.

"Storm's chaos!" She shouted too late.

"Harmony of the Earth! Peace!" I shouted, my fist glowing white instead of its usual black, and I hit her attack full on, breaking through and making impact with her jaw. She jumped backwards, and glared at me, taking in my guild mark.

"Oh, I never knew you could bite, little tiger" She mocked as she started another spell.

"Storm Bringer's Secret Art: Destructive Mass!" Menaili shouted, and I tried to counter it with another spell.

"Earth's Ground: I beckon you forth to brace the sky and enjoy the sea, bring forth a storm and show thy power- I summon you, Earth Shaker!" I chanted, using one of the strongest spells that I had at my disposal. The ground shook, and Menaili's spell faltered, giving me an opening to merge with the shadows and encase her in a cage. From there, I hit her in the jaw with all I had, and she started to weaken, I could feel it. Her heartbeat quickened, she took deeper breaths, and I saw tiny beads of sweat line her forehead. I smiled. I haven't had this much of a thrill in such a long time. I continued my brash attacks, and didn't notice her small smile as I approached, thinking she was done for. She kicked me in the gut, broke the cage, then began _her_ attack. She punched, kicked, and slashed me, and I started to get weaker. Knowing that I would fall any second now, I decided to go big or go home. I used the strongest spell of this element.

"With the balance of the earth, the harmony of the earth, the life of the earth, and the purity of the earth… I summon the purest aspect of this kind… Peace!" I shouted, and a large white beam made its way to a shocked Menaili, and hit her square in the chest, where she then collapsed, defeated. I decided to tie her up, but I didn't have the strength. _I shouldn't have gotten so cocky,_ I though to myself as I fainted, not even registering the flare that I had unintentionally triggered, the sound echoing throughout the forest while light exploded above me.

Previously on Sting's POV

I saw a flare gun go off, but, as much as I wanted to go there, I had a very annoyed Trentor on my hands. I said something about how his hair looked weird, and how he would never get a girlfriend, but then he cut me off midway and started to dish out some random attacks, his eyes narrowed as he cradled his hair, probably trying to put back together his broken ego. Seeing an opening, I charged. _Why do people always have to interrupt me during my monologues?_ I thought, a little pissed that the dude ignored me and started to attack. Trentor, his specialty was earth magic. I wonder how earth is supposed to beat storm anyway? Well, I'll ask Rogue later.

My ring started to glow a sapphire blue as I shouted out the spell, "Crashing Sky!" A duplicate, stormy sky appeared, and started to crash, ice hitting him and cutting him as angry clouds swirled around him, knocking him from side to side. However, he put up a shield made of dirt, and I laughed. I splashed some water on it and the dirt turned to mud, which stuck to Trentor, the poor guy. I was laughing my butt off.

Trentor glared at me, angry, and started to hurl boulders at me.

"Woah, woah, wo-oomph!" I cautioned as he chucked a boulder at me, hitting me on the head and causing me to fly into a tree. I didn't really like tress anymore. They freaking hurt. Trentor trapped me, and started to cut me with thorns and rocks, grabbing onto my hands and ankles with vines. I couldn't really use my hands now, so I just did one of my favorite moves.

"Light dragon ROAR!" I shouted, hitting him in the chest as he stumbled back, surprised. I limped over to a rock, and supported my weight on it. I wasn't done yet, though, and I sure as hell wasn't about to lose to Lucy. I knew that I wasn't a good idea, in this state, but I decided to try out some super strong spell. I thought for a second, striking a pose and confusing Trentor, and that's when I remembered the words.

"Um..er.. wait hold on…" I said, looking at my hand, where I wrote down some spells, knowing this would happen. "Oh, yeah, right! Wait, what…? Oh, yup, yup" I began to talk to myself, leaving a very annoyed Trentor, again, and then I started to get serious. I kissed my ring before chanting the spell.

"I summon you, gods of the sky, come to my aide to crush the envying earth. May your power outlive the sea and the earth, and for this moment, may the harmony be disturbed… Dominating Sky!" I shouted, and the sky shook, with all kinds of bad weather striking down on Trentor, and I occasionally found a few openings to kick him here and there. As the self obsessed dude fell unconscious, I grinned to myself, and I could practically _hear_ Lector's voice, shouting me praise. _There you go, did you see that, Luce?_

Lucy's POV  
For the last 45 minutes, I've been trying to get a connection with Rogue and Sting, but they haven't been picking up. I heard something, though, and I looked to my left, only to see a flare go off. I used my stealth at full power, and began to run to the location of the flare. As I began to run, I heard a scream closer by, so I checked it out, only to see a very beaten up Trentor and Sting. I gasped at Sting's wounds, and activated Lion's Strength, something that also used Loke's abilities. I hefted Sting up to my shoulder, and continued on my previous path, towards Rogue. I saw Rogue, and an unconscious Menaili, and I saw that Rogue's wounds were just as bad. I laid Sting down next to Rogue, and was about to get out a first aide kit, but a voice stopped me.

"Oh, a Fairy? Look, isn't that a nice breeze?" a chilling, feminine voice called out.

 _Cindy._

Strong winds blew all around us, an I shivered, pulling my sweater tighter around me. I bare my teeth at her as I glanced over one more time at Sting and Rogue.

"You will pay for what you have done to my friends…: I threatened, my magical energy increasing tenfold. Cindy seemed startled and started to take a step back, but then regained her composure and laughed. Looking at my guild mark, she snickered, In response, I held up my guild mark proudly, which also seemed to startle her.

"I am a Fairy Tail mage… and I will always help my friends. So, you don't want to dance with Fairies because we, too, are strong. Let's see how powerful you are when you don't have your magic" I glared a Cindy, who seemed o be a little frightened, and she couldn't wipe the look off of her face. She summoned what seemed to be one of her strongest spells, obviously shaken by what I just said.

"W-winds! I call you forth! Tornado Storm! Cindy called out, stuttering. As tornadoes surrounded me, I smirked. Wind was moving air, so if there was no air… there was no wind.

"Element Decomposition! Air! Rid Nitrogen, rid Argon, rid Carbon Dioxide, rid Helium , rid Krypton, rid Methane, rid Hyrdogen, rid Xenon…rid oxygen" I finished, sucking a deep breath beforehand. Cindy looked confused, but as she suddenly remembered science class, her winds died down, and she was left there, gasping for air. I called forth an air bubble which surrounded my head so I could breathe, and I called out my whip.

"River of Stars" The beating, as well as the deprivation of oxygen, took Cindy down fairly quickly, and I restored the air, so she wouldn't die. Heading back to Trenton, I brought him to the clearing where the other two were, and I tied them up. Summoning Virgo to bring me a carriage, I dumped the bodies there, and then sprayed them with a gas so that they wouldn't wake up. Putting Sting and Rogue in the seats, I made sure that I had everything, and then started off back to Magnolia's police station.

TIME SKIP  
I dropped off Death Reaper there, and I told the police everything I knew, and they were teleported to the Magic Council almost immediately after. Sting and Rogue _still_ hadn't woken up, so I took them back to my place, and sent the carriage back to the Celestial Spirit world. Then, I summoned Virgo once again.

"Yes, Princess?" she said politely, as usual.

"Virgo, you've really helped me out a lot throughout this while mission, so I would like to thank you. Is there anything you would like?" I offered. Virgo, of course, didn't hesitate with her reply.

"Punishment, Princess?" I sighed. Walking over to Virgo, who was squealing with glee, I flicked her forehead. She looked shocked for a moment, then bowed happily, with hearts in her eyes, and then went back to the Celestial Spirit world. I chuckled to myself. My spirits were so weird.

 **"** Luce…" Sting croaked out. I ran to his side and held his hand.

"Do you need anything, Sting?"

"Yeah, could you get me some water?" He asked. I cringed at his poor state and immediately gave him some water, as well as some pain killers. Rogue woke up, too, probably due to the noise, and I gave him the same thing. They both grunted in thanks, and then were knocked out, probably because they were so tired, and the pain killers had some side effects. Sighing, I took out and extra blanket and pillow, and slept on the couch, leaving the bed for the two layers to share.

TIME SKIP  
Sting's POV

I woke up and cracked my eyelids open, welcoming the morning light. At least I didn't die, or wait… was this heaven? Nah, I was too good for heaven. I saw Rogue sleeping next to me, but I was too tired to make some comment. We were in Lucy's apartment, so she must've finished the job and brought us here. I looked around the room, and saw Lucy sleeping on the couch, wrapping the blanket around her tightly.

"Idiot, why didn't you take the bed?" I whispered. Surprisingly, she replied in her sleep.

"Because… I want… Sting… to have a good…rest" I blushed, and covered my mouth with my hand. I plopped my head back onto the pillow, and fell back to sleep.

When I woke up again, Lucy had breakfast ready, and Rogue was already up. I mumbled a sleepy good morning, and Lucy came to me to help me get up. She gave me some meat, which I was grateful for, and we spent the rest of breakfast like that, Lucy helping us as we ate. My wounds were way deeper than Rogue's, and so, Lucy paid more attention to me, and I smirked at Rogue, who just turned away.

"Lucy, my wounds aren't that big of a deal since they're just some bruises. So, with that, I'll be heading back to Sabertooth, because I promised Yukino that I would meet up with her today" Rogue said, standing up.

Lucy, looking a little disappointed, agreed and said, " Ok, but be careful. Give me a call if you need anything" She saw Rogue out, and sunk in the chair next to me. I didn't want to seem like I was intruding, so I stood up to leave with Rogue, only to have Lucy sit me back down again. She looked me straight in the eye.

"Oh, no. For the next dew weeks, you'll be living with me. Those wounds won't heal for a while, and we don't want your guild to see their master in such a state, right? If you need to do some paperwork, I can go over to get it for you, but for now, just rest" Lucy said in one breath, holding my shoulders down. I just smirked and did as she said.

"Well, I don't blame you, who _wouldn't_ want to be in the Great Sting Eucliffe's company?" I said, lightening up the mood. Lucy grinned, and I returned it, looking forward to the next few weeks.

"Go take a bath, you stink. I'm going to go to Saber to pick up some work for you. Don't worry, I'll make an excuse. Do NOT go anywhere, or else I'm going to hunt you down…" Lucy threatened. I nodded, not wanting to die this early.

Lucy's POV

I took the train to Sabertooth, where I greeted everyone. Speaking to Minerva, I made something up.

"Sting will be staying with me for the next couple of weeks because he said he was going to do some research of the magic shops. I told him that it would be a good experience, so I just came to get some paperwork that he might have to do. Also, you know my address, so if there's anything else, feel free to mail me or talk via lacrima. Minerva nodded, and while I spoke to some members, she came back with a stack of paper work, which I toppled under the weight over, and I thanked her, wanting to get home as soon as possible so I could be with Sting. I didn't even process what I just thought, and I summoned Loke to carry the papers for me.

Sting's POV

I got out of the bath, my hair still wet. I put on some pants, and threw on a shirt lazily, and sat on Lucy's bed, not bothering to dry the upper half of myself. When Lucy finally did come back, thought, she looked at me, set the papers down, and scowled. Going to the bathroom, she got a towel, and, kneeling in front of me, began to dry my hair.

"You're going to get sick, idiot" She said, blushing at how close we were.

I grinned. "Yeah, whatever. This is much more eventful anyways" I said, examining her features.

Her chocolate brown eyes were mesmerizing, and I felt myself being lost in them. The way she sat in front of me left our faces mere inches apart, and my eyes trailed down to her perfect lips. Lucy was pretty hot, so I was wondering how I didn't notice it before. She caught me staring and we looked at each other a bit, before looking away and blushing. As she removed the towel, I felt a little sad that our moment was over, but then, she sat on the bed, and sat me down on the ground, in between her legs. She combed my hair, occasionally playing with it, and it felt good. I could hear her murmuring how soft it was, and I let out a small smile. A smile. Not a grin. Not a smirk. A smile. Leaning back I savored the moment. Then she handed me the towel, to my confusion, and she started to stammer.

"Sting, d-dry y-your u-upper t-tors-o…: she said, steam coming out of her ears. Trying to act innocent, I refused.

"Ehh? But Lucy, I'm injured, so you have to take care of me, right?" I said, refusing to give up. She gave up pretty quickly though, and took the towel from me. She took off my shirt, in which I said, "Eager, are we?" and she blushed more, if that was even possible. She began to dry me, but it wasn't awkward at all. In fact, it was kind of cute. When she was done, she sighed, and tried to get up, but I pinned her to the bed, still shirtless.

"Lucy, I'm tired" With that, I fell asleep before she could say anything, sleeping on command being one of my strong points. She just held me softly, and I smiled again. Except it wasn't a small one. It was a _real_ one.


	9. Badass Angel

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Sting's POV  
I woke up the next morning, still in Lucy's comfy bed while I saw the said girl on the couch. The sun shone on her golden hair, and her long lashes fluttered open as she felt me staring. I gave her a smile, and as her eyes widened, she blushed.

 _She's fun to tease_.

I walked over, still a little sore from my injuries, but I went over anyway, and picked her up bridal style, dropping her on the bed, covering her with the blankets. She kept staring at me, confused.

"Remember that one time I came to your guild? And I carried you, just like I did now?" I asked, remembering the memory, smiling a little wider. Lucy nodded, sporting a smile of her own now, too. It seems like such a distant memory, and we've gotten so much closer since then. I didn't grin, and I didn't smirk. I smiled, and that thought made me smile more. We just stayed like that, remembering things while smiling each other like idiots. She then got up, and pushed me down on the bed.

"Lie down, you're still injured" She reminded me, making her way towards the kitchen. She looked over her shoulder, and called out to me, "I'll take care of breakfast, so just relax a bit"

Soon after, the smell of bacon and pancakes filled the room, and Lucy emerged with a plate, carrying it to me, and I accepted it with thanks. Pulling up a chair, we ate together, not using a table, but casually ate like we were best buds, and I was completely fine with that. Not like I ever used table manners, anyway. I noticed Lucy staring at me, and I looked at her straight in the eye.

"Oh, sorry. It's just…I've never really seen you smile more" I dropped my head. _Yeah, I know, I surprise even myself. It doesn't really suit my chara-_ my thoughts were cut off with her next words.

"You should smile more, you look better. You have a beautiful smile, you know? You should open up more to me, though…Sometimes I feel as if you're locking up your emotions" Lucy said, sadly. I blushed. _She…she likes my smile…_

"To be honest…I haven't smiled since I was a kid, with Weisslogia…not even Rogue…" I felt tears start to form at the mention of my dragon parent, and I silently cursed myself. _Why am I opening up? I shouldn't. I have to be the strong, confident Sting._ I looked up, and just shook my head. Lucy put down her plate and hugged me.

"Just let it out. I know how you feel" was all she said, and that was all it took. My eyes widened, and I broke out of my shell, starting to cry. I didn't want to …I don't know what happened. I thought that I had covered up all the cracks…I thought I put on a mask. Even my best friend couldn't see through it. I hugged Lucy tighter as I cried silently, remembering my parent, and remembering how I couldn't even remember my _real_ parents. I smiled a bit, though, and I felt much better. I whispered a small thank you to the mage, and as I held her, I felt my heart beat faster. _She never fails to surprise me… Who exactly is she_? I thought to myself, laughing a bit. First, she makes me blush, then, she makes me nervous, then she makes me smile, and right after that, she's able to make me cry. I pulled away from our embrace, and I looked at this crazy girl in the eyes, once again.

"Lucy…You're interesting" I simply said, confusing the wizard.

"How so?" She replied, cocking her head to one side.

"Well, when I'm around you, you make me reveal hidden parts of myself. You're special, in your own way" I explained, earning a blush from her, and having my traitorous features sport a blush as well. Stammering, she just stood up and pointed to her desk.

"Well, you should start some of your work today. I can help you if you want…" Lucy offered, trying but failing miserably to hide her blush. I smiled, _again,_ and headed over to the desk, taking my plate with me. I began to work, the mood turning serious, but I could still feel Lucy staring at me, and I still held a small smile.

Lucy's POV  
He…smiled. And it was beautiful. _Lucy, what are you thinking?!_ I tried to shake the thoughts out of my head, and I thought back to his sudden outburst. It surprised me, but I was glad that he was able to open up. I knew about his past, though, and it was so sad. He didn't even really kill his dragon, and he lived his life with the guilt of the crime. After that, he actually _met_ his dragon, only to have it die a couple of minutes afterward. Yet, Sting always put on a brave front for himself, his friends, and the guild. I admired him, really. He was mentally and physically powerful. I, on the other hand… _NO, this was no time to be pessimistic!_ I decided to make some white chocolate cookies and some milk for the slayer, so I immediately set to work making it. It was fairly easy, and soon, everything was complete. I glanced over to Sting, who had a serious facial expression. I blushed.

 _He was so serious during the mission, too. I never knew…_ I smiled a bit, and set the cookies and milk in front of him, while I took his empty breakfast plate back to the kitchen. As I turned around, I heard Sting, say, "Thanks", and my heartbeat quickened. I'm pretty sure that Sting must've heard it, because he chuckled a bit, took a cookie in one hand, and resumed his work in a good mood. Today was one of the happiest days of my life, and it was all because of this stupid blonde haired slayer. I sighed happily, and took out my novel. Sitting on my bed, I opened the window and looked outside. The breeze blew my hair, and it felt so good. I watched the sakura petals float down. Turning to my novel, I began to write, going into a world of my own. I happily wrote and wrote, and almost did 5 chapters, but then my hand cramped, and I decided to take a break. I looked over, and saw that Sting finished the cookies, so I took his plate away. With a thud, I sat back down onto my bed, and I looked out the window once more. The town was busy, and I smiled to myself, and began to sing to myself softly, the breeze still blowing against my face.

Sting's POV  
As she took my plate, I pretended not to notice her, but as she sat back down, I looked back. A slight breeze came through the open window, and was blowing her hair softly. With the sun shining on her, she looked like an angel. Then, as I was about to go back to my work, I heard her sing. My eyes widened, for the about millionth time that day, but her voice even _sounded_ like an angel. At this point, I was beginning to actually wonder if Lucy was human or not. I mean, no girl has ever made me feel this way before. I closed my eyes, and leaned my head back, enjoying her soothing voice. As she continued to sing, I continued my work, and then, what a miracle, I finally finished.

I turned my body around so I could hear her more clearly. I was staring at her now. Closing my eyes, I listened to her voice, and it resurfaced fond memories that I ad of everyone, but I opened them once I heard the music stop. She stared at me wide eyed, the sun making her chocolate brown eyes sparkle.

"O=oh, sorry. Am I disturbing you?" She asked, embarrassed.

"No, I actually finished everything. Continue singing, though. You have a really pretty voice" I voiced my thoughts aloud, and I matched her blush with one of m own. She smiled at me softly and nodded. And we both sat down like that, her singing, looking out the window, and me sitting, looking at the supposed angel in front of me.

Unlike how I usually would, I didn't deny all of the positive thoughts that I had about Lucy. This time, I embraced them, and I felt that I grew closer with the stellar mage. I had opened up to her, my darkest and deepest secrets she knew, and she made me see things about myself that I never noticed. I was different today, that was for sure. I was even smiling, crying, and complimenting in front of a girl, for Pete's Sake! I sighed happily, though. I felt good this way. I felt that I could truly be myself. I hid behind a mask, yet she was able to uncover it so easily. I wondered how…

Natsu's POV  
I didn't see Lucy at the guild today, so I ran towards her apartment, but that's when I smelled it. Sting was with her. Growling, I ran faster, but then I was stopped in my tracks when I heard Lucy singing. I was in front of the apartment, and I looked up, swearing that I saw an angel. Her hair was golden, and her eyes were milky chocolate. Her skin was pale. Her voice was sugary sweet. Multiple people stopped to stare at the beauty sing. They all smiled at Fairy Tail's only resident mage, Lucy Heartfilia. If Sting was able to bring this out of her, then I guess I couldn't do anything but leave her in his hands for now. It hurt me one the inside, really, that he could see this new part of Lucy before me, but if my best friend was happy, then I was happy. Speaking of happy, where _was_ Happy?

Lucy's POV

Sting sat next to me on the bed, now, and looked out the window with me. That's when he turned and grinned. He mouthed to not stop singing, and then he pointed downwards. I looked down, and I saw the citizens of Magnolia look up at me, and I was still singing. I stopped momentarily, and everyone clapped. I was shocked. I never thought of myself as a singer, but I smiled, and continued to sing, where everyone fell silent again, smiling with me. Sting looked awed, even, and I was surprised that he was able to see this part of me. I loved singing, but I never told anybody, not even Levy. I guess we both opened up to each other a lot today.

Lucy's POV

W stopped what we were doing when we heard an explosion, without a second thought, we jumped out the window, running towards the source of the sound. I saw Sting wince, since he was still injured, but he didn't stop. I shook my head at his recklessness. We saw a bank on fire, and some robbers escaping, and the happy mood was broken. I immediately told Sting to go to the bank to look for survivors; no way was I letting him fight.

"Gate of the Water Bearer! I open thee! Aquarius! Put out the fire!" I didn't waste a breath as I sent Aqaurius to work.

"River of Stars!" I got out my whip and I snagged the robbers, who turned out to be mages. I licked my lips. This was going to be exciting; an interesting turn of events from calmly singing. The robbers were apparently fire mages, as they tried to shoot flames.

"Requip! Aquarius Star Dress Transformation!" I yelled out, and a water barrier protected me.

"Tidal Wave!" I shouted. Immediately a massive wall of water attacked, ice cold, immediately freezing the flames, as well as the mages themselves. Changing back to my normal clothes, and sending a very quiet Aquarius to the spirit world, I tied up the bandits, as I looked around for Sting. He helped a bunch of people escape the fire, which was immediately put out by Aquarius. I spotted a man who was watching me before, and then he pointed to me.

"Badass Angel!" He said, and everyone cheered, causing Sting and I to sweat drop. Some police officers came by to pick the robbers up, and they thanked me, even paying me some Jewels, ignoring my protests.

"Well, look who the hero's now" Sting said, elbowing my rib cage. I just smiled, but then I realized what I could buy with the Jewels. I yelled at Sting to go back to the apartment, and I went to a nearby magic shop.

After half an hour, I came back, and gave Sting a magic healing charm. I put it around his neck, and he immediately began to heal.

"Wow, thanks. I feel much better… Though this means that I won't be able to stay with you as long…" Sting sounded disappointed, so I just made him look up.

"Who says that? Anyway, you seem to be completely fine, so… want to spar?" I asked, in which Sting perked up. With that, he led me to Fairy Tail's sparring grounds.

Natsu's POV

I saw Sting and Lucy approach the guild, and I heard them clearly shout, "We're sparring!" I got excited, fist pumped the air, and told everyone to gather in the back.

"STING AND LUCY ARE SPARRING!" Everyone quickly ran to the back, and Maser, interested in how this would turn out between the two powerful mages. Besides, they never really had seen Lucy's new powers.

Lucy's POV

Everyone was betting on Sting, and I smirked. _Time to show them my new powers._

Maser Macarov explained the rules, which was same old, same old, and then the match began. Sing didn't hesitate.

"Holy Ray!" A ray shot at me, but I sidestepped it, and quickly called out 5 gates. He was starting out with one of his strongest attacks, in dragon force already, so I was going to give him a run for his money.

"Open, the gates of the Zodiac, I summon thee! Leo! Virgo! Saggitarius! Aquarius! Gemini!" Everyone stared in shock as I opened 5 gates, but I was unfazed, and so was Sting. This was an interesting arrangement.

Sting ran up to me and yelled out, "White Dragon's claw!" I blocked it with a special move of my own.

Running up, I countered the attack, "Celestial Punch!" The attacks collided, and the magical energy made my hair blow back, and it was the same for Sting. We locked eyes for a second, smirked, and continued to fight.

Sting ran behind me, and landed a solid kick and punch. I was going to win, I swore it.

"Open, the gates of the Zodiac! I summon thee! Capricorn! Aries! Taurus! Cancer! Scorpio!"

Everyone's eyes bulged out, even Sting's. They all started to attack at once, and I summoned my whip, and caught him. Knowing he had motion sickness, I spun him around, making him sick. While he was down, I had Gemini help me, and we did a quick Urano Metria on him, rendering the dragon slayer sick and unconscious. Before anything else could happen, I was declared the winner. I was happy that I didn't really use any of my new powers. I wanted to surprise fairy Tail later on. Everyone crowded me, and started to ask me questions. Sting got up, and fistbumped my shoulder.

"Nice match, but next time, I won't lose!" Sting said as he went to the bathroom, still not quite over his nausea. Natsu came up to me.

"YOU SUMMONED ALL OF YOUR FREAKING SPIRITS AT ONCE! HOW THE HE-" Natsu was pushed aside by everyone else, and I just rubbed the back of my neck. Even Master asked me some questions.

In answer to all of it, I gave an uncertain response, "Training?" They wouldn't have it. Some of them were even starting to suspect that I wasn't Lucy. I just laughed with everyone, and saw Sting in the corner, watching us all with a grin. I flashed a peace sign, and he returned it. I was pretty proud, though.

"But guys, Sting is really powerful. I had to use ten zodiac keys!" I defended, standing up for Sting. When the others realized this they started praising him and complimenting his as well, also crowding around him when he came back.

"Oi, Lucy! Fight me!" Gray yelled, and I met him head on, with my signature grin. Everyone crowded around again, and I was happy that they were able to see how much I've grown. I feel like their trust in me just tripled, and I was glad that I was now seen as an even stronger Fairy Tail mage. I held up my pointer finger and thumb in an 'L' position, and riled everyone up.

"LET'S DO THIS FAIRYTAIL!"

"YEAH!"

I smiled. Even after all the hell we've been through, even after Tenroujima, even after the Grand Magic Games, even after Eclipse…They never change, do they? Fairy Tail was my home, and always would be. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could make me leave my family.

A Week Later

Sting's POV  
I walked into the guild hall, completely healed now. Lucy gave me some fake report on the magic shops so I could cover up some questions, and I walked to the front of the guild.

"Okay, people! We have a new goal! Beat Lucy Heartfilia!"

Minerva simply asked, "Why?" And I simply replied, "The chick beat me in a fight"

.

.

.

"WHAT?!" Everyone shouted, even the usually emotionless Rogue. I smirked, and I looked at Minerva in the eye.

"She's different from the Grand Magic Games, so I think that you'll be able to have a fair fight this time" I told her smirking, in which Minerva cracked her knuckles and returned the expression.

"We may be friends now, but I won't hold back!" Minerva said, licking her lips. Other members piped up, and we decided that we would have a sparring schedule. Weekly fights. Yeah, that sounded fun. I ran up to my office to call the old man, and we made arrangements. We would have a tournament!

Rogue's POV  
I stared, wide eyed. Lucy had beaten Sting…? Sting was the master, and one of the strongest in the guild. Then, I facepalmed. _He probably lost in some way, like due to his motion sickness._ I smiled, and everyone stared at me, surprised, but I ignored them. Lucy was always observant, and she was smart. _She would make an interesting opponent._ I spoke up, basically being the master's right hand man.

"I call dibs on being her first opponent" I said, loud enough for everyone to hear, and I melted into the shadows, leaving everyone shocked at the sudden display of excitement.

"No fair, man! You can't call that!" Orga said, pouting. Rufus agreed with the tip of his hat, and Minerva was emitting a deadly aura. I chuckled, and went home, thinking about how I could defeat the stellar mage. I was interested, also, because I sensed a strong magical energy coming from her. That was enough to impress, yet I didn't notice all the subtle jewelry she wore.

Lucy's POV

I fist pumped the air as I heard about the tournament we were having against Sabertooth. They were targeting me, but everyone would be involved. I was curious what brought this up, though, and when I asked about it, everyone started laughing at me. Master spoke up to explain.

"Child…*laughter* you do realize that you have beaten Sabertooth's *Chuckle* Master? Of course they… would be… (gasp) interested…" I nodded my head, a smirk never leaving my lips. No one ever saw my fighting side, the part of me that loved the thrill of danger. Sting rubbed off on me, I guess. This would be fun, and I was interested in fighting a certain shadow dragon slayer. With my feelings pumped up, one of my restraining rings broke off, and a large burst of my magical energy filled the air, silencing everyone.

"S-sorry, one of my restraints broke. I guess I got a little too excited" said, summoning another ring to replace the broken one, and the air turned back to normal. I forgot to mention that I was a S- Class wizard, but that was to be expected, right? I mean the trials were super easy last time (almost everyone got in), but Natsu was on his mission, and I forgot to mention it, so I guess… he kind of… didn't know? Oops?

"Lucy-san…is there something you're not telling me?" Natsu said cautiously, putting emphasis on the honorific. (San is like mr. or mrs. )

"Okay, okay, I promise that I'll explain everything to you later. But, for now, I need to devise a strategy to beat Rogue" I said, thinking about what I could do with his shadows. Before long, I was fully absorbed in my daydream, totally ignorant to the fire freak that was my best friend trying to get my attention.

Rogue's POV

Tomorrow was the official start of Fairy Tail's and Sabertooth's unofficial tournament. Sting was the prominent master, but everyone in the guild knew me as the real master, the one who works in the shadows. Well, wan't that ironic? I was pretty confident in my skills, and I knew only a few people who could hit me in my shadow form. I knew that I shouldn't underestimate the mage, though, because if she was able to beat Sting, then this would prove troublesome. I was laying down on my bed, and as I stared up at the ceiling, I thought about the blonde beauty. I hadn't seen her in a while, and she was now a good friend to me, so I got excited again. As I felt my eyes get heavy, I looked out the window one last time, and I saw Lucy's smile. It was a smile so bright that it could melt even the darkest of shadows.


	10. Lovey- Dovey in the Woods

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Rogue's POV  
As Sabertooth members stood in the back, waiting for Fairy Tail to arrive, Sting announced, quite dejectedly, that he would be in his office, finishing paperwork. _He never changes, huh?_ I felt a little bad for him, but I was happy nonetheless. The last time that Sabertooth had been in a competition was during the Grand Magic Games. Everyone was standing around, talking, but when we heard a stampede plowing through the town, we all smiled at each other, knowing that the rowdy guild had arrived.

"All right, brats! Lets show Sabertooth who's boss!" Master Macarov shouted, earning cheers from the guild. Sabertooth's backyard was basically just a gigantic clearing in the forest, enough so that we could fit a couple of battlefields.

I spoke up, "We'll be having three matches at a time, and we're having some earth mages set up some dividers. So, we're basically going to draw slips, or call dibs, in order to match each other up for the battles. And by the way," I said, looking for a flash of blond hair.

"I…" I trailed off, looking for her, "Call… dibs…" I said, smiling to myself when I saw her, "On Lucy" I pointed to the said girl, and she smiled my way, in which I returned it with a silent nod of my head.

"First Matches! Cana vs. Yukino! Erza vs. Minerva! Rogue vs. Lucy! Healers, stand ready! Begin!" the master shouted, signaling with a wave of his hand. I wasted no time.

"I'm not going easy, you know?" I said with a rare smirk. My magical energy incrasing, I went all out.

"Shadow Drive…Shadow Dragon's Iron Fist!" I shouted, running towards my target. Lucy sidestepped it, and pulled out her keys.

"Open! Gates of the Zodiac, I summon thee! Unify and Destroy! Zodiac Gates, open, in balance and harmony, Celestial Balance!" Lucy yelled. I never heard of this summoning form, but she summoned all of her spirits at once, which had Yukino a little distracted, but everyone payed closer attention to the stellar mage. The spirits glared at me, with devious glints in their eyes. I needed to be careful. They looked different this time.

"River of Stars!" Lucy activated her whip and lunged for me, in which I responded my pulling out my katana. I slashed at her, while she tried to grab my feet. I had the avantage here, in terms of control, but then she reached into her pocket and took out something shiny.

Lucy's POV  
I took out my throwing knives, and added some magic to them.

"Elemental Rain! Dance with Blades!" the daggers pointed themselves at him, and started to swerve, in which distracted him.

"Star Dress Transformation: Gate of the Lion, Leo!" I took out my sword, and dispelled the daggers, and met Rogue's katana head on. We clashed, not using magic, and tested ourselves. Jumping back, I changed into my Saggitarius Star Dress, and shot arrows at the unsuspecting slayer. THe other matches had ended, and everyone's eyes were on us. I loved it. The barriers were taken down, and we had more space to move around in.

Rogue never seemed to notice that my spirits were simply standing back and watching, so I sent them all back, smiling at what was about to come.

"Requip! Celestial Unison Raid! I summon thy powers of the Zodiac. Heed my call and pass through the Gate!" I shouted, changing into heavy celestial armor, while shooting a beam at Rogue, composed of blinding stars and colors. Everyone was awed at the sight. He began to counter.

"Shadow Dragon's Roar!" Rogue shouted, and as he fired the attack, he melted into the shadows, and I closed my eyes. I tried to sense his magical presence. _Behind me..!_ I turned around, my fist colliding with the mage's. We smiled at each other, obviously enjoying this. What a thrill.

Rogue's POV  
I started kicking and punching, surprised that Lucy could keep up with my shadows. I was having fun, for once, and I let my emotions show. Lucy dodged my attacks, and she was pretty good, at it, too. She was also good with a sword. I used one of my most powerful roars at her, and as the smoke cleared, I was about to claim victory, but I saw her standing, in another dress, protected by a water barrier. I jumped forward, sending a low roundhouse kick, which she jumped over, and I heard her land behind me. Then, she decided to switch things up a bit. She sent a barrier to the audience, and used her elemental card magic.

"Elemental Decomposition! Air! Rid the gases and rid the winds!" I didn't understand at first, but then, I was losing oxygen. I looked at Lucy, and I applauded her for that. However, I wasn't going to give up that easily. Through sheer will power, I ran forward, and was able to land my first hit.

"Shadow Dragon Iron Fist!" It hit her in the gut, and sent her flying into a tree. The oxygen came back, and I gratefully gulped down the air. I thought she was defeated, but she stood up again. Her bangs covered her eyes, and I barely heard her whisper, "I didn't want to go all out on you, but you leave me no choice…" she said, dangerously. _Wait, she was going easy on me?!_ Was all I could think, but I stood there confused as she carefully took off one of her usual rings. Then, I face palmed. Those rings weren't jewelry, they were restrainers. The air tensed as a huge flood of magical energy started to crush everyone. She started to chant a spell.

"I summon you, now. My aspect is evil…may darkness consume the light, and may even the darkest of shadows be overwhelmed… I call upon you now, look upon the stars as your guide, as you rip through the souls of those who are pure. I summon you, come, and face my wrath!" Lucy said quietly, a dark aura surrounding her. I could see it in the way she was casting the spell, she was going _really_ easy on me. A dark, pitch black beam shot towards me, even darker than my shadows, but as I went into my shadow form, the magic energy itself pulled me back up, and as I was hit in the head, I smiled to myself. _Good, game, Lucy._ I fainted.

Lucy's POV  
I tried to be as weak as I could with that spell, but I guess it was still too much. I ran over to him, pushing aside, Wendy, because I knew that this called for purification magic, not healing.

"I call upon you, show me your face, the aspect of purity. Rid the darkness, and shine brighter than the light. Mend broken souls and patch crushed hearts" I muttered quietly, and all of Rogue's wounds healed, as well as the strange shadows that surrounded him when I casted the spells. When he was completely healed, his eyes cracked open.

"Lucy…?" he said, before getting up. He squeezed my hand, and he smiled at me, causing me to blush, and causing everyone else's jaws to drop. "I have a long way to go, I see" was all he said, before all the Sabertooth and Fairy Tail mages made their way over to me. Yukino was especially excited.

"Lucy! You summoned 10 zodiac gates, and you didn't even need to use them, you just summoned them to make the transformations easier! Also, you have to teach me all of those new spells!" the white haired mage said excitedly. I nodded, and I coughed when Minerva and Erza patted me on the back a little too strongly. I looked over to the mages, and then I remembered that they had a match.

"Yukino, who won your match?" I asked.

"Cana…she used that weird mark that she had at the GMG's" Yukinio said, scratching her head. I turned to Erza and Minerva about to ask the same thing, but decided against it when I saw that they looked ready to kill each other.

"It was a tie, because this woman cheated and started to haphazardly throw rocks at everyone like a madman!" Minerva shouted, clenching her fists.

"Just shows how many skills I have!" Erza shouted back, pulling out a sword. Backing away slowly from the dangerous argument, I went to Rogue, whom I playfully punched on the shoulder.

"That was a really fun match, we should spar again sometime soon. Oh yeah, I felt that you were about to use a new spell, before I blocked it of course, but, if you want, I can help you power it up. I have magic for that" I pointed out, recalling the fight.

"Oh yeah, thanks. If you want, I could also help you with your sword fighting. By the way, I never knew that those rings you wore were restrainers. I thought that you just really into jewelry or something like that…" Rogue mumbled the last part, and I laughed.

Rogue's POV

I wondered why she even wore them. Sure, her magical energy was overwhelming, but shouldn't that work to her advantage?

"Why do you even wear them? The restrainers, I mean. Don't they hold you back? And why do you wear so many?" I interrogated her, staring at all the rings she had on, and I also noticed her metallic earrings. From what I saw, she had on about 10 of the things, and I wondered how powerful she truly was.

"Well, I don't want people to see me differently" Was her reply, and I cocked my head in confusion. Seeing this, she smiled.

"When I first came to Fairy Tail, I was pretty weak, and I was just starting out as a mage. When I met everyone, though, I grew stronger with them, and we all were happy, just like the good old days. But then… Natsu went on a mission, and I was alone, so I took time off and traveled, meeting new people and learning new things. Nobody knew about it, though, and I was still just normal old Lucy to them. When I came back, my heart was broken by somebody, and it made me grow stronger. Nobody knew about my real powers then. They would only get a glimpse of it, but the guild waved those glimpses off as flukes. I didn't want to be like Erza, although she's whom I admire, because just the name Titania can cause people to run away in fear. I don't want to scare people, I want them to think of me as a normal person, not an all mighty mage. Fairy Tail, too. They all keep themselves away from people like Laxus and his gang, but that's because they respect them for their power. I want to be close with everyone, not send people running or cowering in fear at my name, or being left alone, respected but lonely. I guess… I guess I just want to be just Lucy Heartfilia in the eyes of everyone" I gasped in realization as I noticed that I was rambling on.

"S-sorry!" I bowed in apology and turned to leave, embarrassed. However, Rogue caught my wrist, and he smiled at me. I looked at him, forgetting that we were in the middle of a rowdy crowd.

"Don't worry about something as silly as that. To me, and to your friends, you'll always be he strong, kind, caring, and beautiful Lucy Heartfilia" He said kindly, bringing me in for a hug. My eyes widened, and the blush was wiped off of my face as I gently hugged him back.

Rogue's POV  
I didn't mean for it to go that far. I pulled her in for a hug so she wouldn't see my flushed face. _It's true, though_ , a voice inside of my head spoke. AS we parted, I turned my face away, and Lucy laughed cutely.

"Thanks, I knew I could always count on you. We better get back, though, since everyone'll be waiting for us" She spoke, taking my hand, surprising me. I let some emotion flicker across my face, before attempting to return it to its usual expressionless state. It didn't work. This woman, in just mere minutes, broke down all my walls. I smiled a little. It felt good. Not replying to her pleading calls, I ran ahead of Lucy, back to the battlefields, not wanting her to see my glowing expressions. I was too happy for my own good. I cursed silently in my head, not being able to return to my stoic expression for the rest of the day.

 **The Next Day**

The tournament ended for that day, and would be continued next week. I got up as my alarm rung, which was unusual for me, and headed down the stairs to eat breakfast. Today, I was going to be able to train with Lucy. I smiled, not knowing that Sting was up, which was surprising, and did a little victory dance.

"What the _hell_ are you _doing?_ " Sting asked as he saw my little jig.

I informed him, expressionless, "I was doing a little victory dance, good sir, because, as you can see, I for one, am _happy,_ because I get to spend the day with _my_ good friend Lucy Heartfilia" Sting pouted as I said this, and started to whine.

"No fair! You get her all to yourself!" He complained, but that was before I reminded him that he got to spend a whole _week_ with her. He turned away, and I, grabbing a bagel from the toaster, ran out the door, bringing a backpack filled with supplies, as well as my katana.

Lucy's POV

I went out, much to Natsu's dismay, in which I promised him that I would go on a mission with him later, after I was done. Seeing Rogue at the spot I selected in the forest, I waved to him. I kept up a friendly atmosphere as I approached, but it broke when I commenced a surprise attack and swung at him with my sword. HE jumped back in surprise, then came at me with his own katana, smirking.

"I won't use my whip!" I shouted, throwing the said weapon aside. He charged forward, being able to get a small cut on me by the ribs, but I ignored the ripped fabric of my shirt. We clashed together, the same pattern repeating multiple times, until Rogue kicked my legs out from under me, and I fell, him pinning me against the ground, holing a dagger near my stomach. I pouted, surrendering, but then I noticed the position we were in. He was pinning me down, on top of me, our legs entangled. Our faces were inches apart, and we just stared at each other for a second, before blushing, looking away, and getting up, straightening out clothes. I found my now ripped shirt very interesting, and Rogue now found a dead tree just as interesting. I cleared my throat, and we looked at each other. Then, we burst our laughing at the awkward silence.

I gripped onto my sides, which were hurting from laughing. We were laughing like idiots, rolling around on the ground, and slapping our hands on our knees. It looked as if we were doing some deranged version of the Macarena. When we calmed down, we decided to move onto what would be the next part of our training.

"So, what are we doing now?" I asked, listing off sword training from my check list.

"Spell posture" Rogue replied, dusting himself off. That made sense.

"Okay, then can you show me that new spell you were about to use during our fight?" I asked, wanting to see it for myself.

"Okay, but I haven't fully grasped it yet, so don't laugh at me" Rogue said, almost shyly. I looked at his posture carefully as he charged up magical energy into a round figure I his hands, before releasing it. He charged up a lot of magic, but the result was a puny, black orb, floating leisurely towards its target, a tree.

"This is embarrassing for the tree" Rogue muttered, sighing. I walked over to him though, and I told him some things that I saw.

"Straighten the upper part of your back, and use your hands to mold the figure of the energy" I explained, asking him to perform the spell again. This time, I went behind him, and I straightened his upper back by holding it straight with my arms, while I supervised him molding the ball of energy, occasionally fixing something. With that, he released the orb, but I was bigger and darker, and it flew towards the tree, obliterating it in mere seconds. He looked a little confused, and I snickered.

"It worked, silly! Now high five me!" I said, waking Rogue up from his trance. We high fived, and he looked really happy.

Erza's POV  
I walked through the forest, following the voice of what I thought was Lucy's. When I came to a clearing, I ducked behind a bush, only to have my suspicions confirmed. It was Lucy, but she was… Hugging Rogue Cheney from behind?! I blushed at the shameless approach, watching Lucy as she hugged Rogue in the most embarrassing position, occasionally running her hands over Rogue's. I… I never knew that she had this kind of relationship with Sabertooth. AS I begin to think about doing that with Jellal, I blushed and ran away as the two separated, running to tell Mira, knowing that she would want to hear this.

Lucy's POV  
There was a rustle in the bushes, and I saw the glint of silver armor, ad I nudged Rogue.

"Did you see that?" I asked, suspecting that it was a certain redhead.

"Yeah, it smelled like Erza, but I guess she got lost or something" Rogue said. I put on a fake smile, but I was panicking on the inside. Erza told Mira everything. And when I say everything, I mean _everything_. Mira once asked Erza to look into Gray, to see if he like Juvia, but Erza stalked him, even giving a detailed report of Gray's underwear as well as what laid _beyond_. I still blush, thinking of that report. I turned ti the dragon slayer as he spoke.

"Your turn" I nodded, ad thought of a spell hat I needed to perfect. Bumping my fist onto the flat of my palm, I decided to use a new spell that I recently learned, but never had the chance to try out.

Taking a deep breath under Rogue's intense gaze, I began to chant the spell.

'Thy stars, let me feed off your power as you shine, and illuminate the night. May your radiance blind those who are ignorant to my cause, for I am your ruler. Judgement Day has arrived, and feel fear under the ruler's gaze. HOLY JUDGEMENT!" I shouted feeling the power well up inside of me. I put my hands out in front of me, and a blinding, bright light emerged, I faced the trees of the forest, and released the magical energy, a huge beam erupting from my tiny figure. Rogue and I watched in awe as the beam obliterated everything in its path, clearing trees left and right for a couple hundred feet. Rogue stared at me.

"Um…" I replied.

"Yeah…"

"So… put your hands closer together?" Rogue suggested, trying hard to think of something. I was confused as to what he meant, and Rogue saw this. He then went behind me, and positioned my hands in a secure fashion, holdin on until he thought that i got it.

"Like this, so you can condense the energy" Rogue said helpfully. We stayed like that, Rogue's hands on mine, as I tried the spell again, and, sure enough, it was even stronger. The strength sent us flying, and we fell together, our arms wrapped around each other, holding on for dear life. He ended up on top of me again, somehow, but we ignored the position this time, still dazed at the powerful spell. _No wonder it was called Holy Judgement. It sends the angels running in fear._

Gray's POV  
I was walking through the woods, investigating. Erza had run into the guild, mentioning something about Lucy and Rogue so I came it out, sure enough, Rogue was hugging Lucy from behind, holding her hands tightly. My eyes widened, and I ran back to he guild, needing to tell everyone about what I just saw.

Rufus' POV  
I was taking a calm stroll through the woods, but that was before a huge, bright beam came and obliterated everything in its path, I, thankfully, not being one of those things. I ran towards the source, and was met with a very cuddly and lovey-dovey Lucy and Rogue. They were in each others arms, holding on, very tightly, if I might say so myself, and they weren't letting go, that much was certain. Recording this in my memory, I walked away, continuing my stroll, thinking about how I could embarrass Rogue in front of the guild.

 **LOL! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'll be updating tomorrow, as well, so you don't need to worry about that. Anywho, LOTS OF STICY AND ROLU FLUFF BACK TO BACK!**


	11. Gates of the Reborn Souls

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima**

I laughed as Rogue told me a story about how, one time, Sting had somehow gotten his head in a bucket. We laughed even harder when he pulled out a picture of it. We decided that we did enough training, after nearly destroying the forest, so here we were, sitting in a café, chatting and eating like we were best buds. I liked this side of Rogue, the side of him where he can open up to me and show his emotions.

"Ne, Rogue, do you ever miss Skiadrum?" I asked, my expression serious.

"Yeah, you can say that…why?" Rogue questioned, baffled.

"When I was training, I didn't train for 3 months, like everyone thought. I went back in time and froze it, and I trained for 10 years. I…" I trailed off, contemplating whether or not I should reveal one of my biggest secrets. I couldn't hide this anymore, especially in front of Rogue, who has already opened up to me.

"I… became a dragon slayer, and… Your dragon isn't dead…" I broke the news quietly. I was a Dragon Slayer, hard to believe, right? And I even met a few dragons. I spent years training while time was frozen. I felt bad not telling anyone, but… What could you expect of me? I mean, nobody would believe me.

"Are you telling the truth…?" Rogue asked, doubts laced in his words. I stood up, slamming the table.

"I wouldn't lie to you about something like this!" I yelled, gaining the attention of a few customers in the café. I sat down, mumbling an apology, while Rogue still looked confused. However, I could sense something else in his expression… was it surprise? No. It was relief. It was happiness. It was triumph. IT was basically every positive human emotion that us humans can process. I saw him tear up a bit, and, setting down some money, I took his hand, walking to a secluded area. Rogue mindlessly followed, allowing himself to be dragged along by me. I went to my special spot, a spot behind some bushes and trees where there was a cliff, dotted with glowing flowers as it overlooked the lights of civilization down below. I sat down, and Rogue followed suit.

"W-what are we doing here?"

"I'll show you"

"Open, Gate of the Reborn Spirits! I summon thee, gate of the Shadow Dragon, Skiadrum!" I pulled out a pitch black key, something that the Celestial Spirit King gave to me. I decided that I would show Sting and Rogue when they were ready. They were ready. A huge, black dragon appeared, and he spread his wings while holding his head up high.

"Yo, Lucy!" Skiadrum said cheerfully, but that's when he saw the emotionally wrecked teenager beside me. I nodded at the dragon, who put his head down. Pulling Rogue along once again, we mounted, and departed, soaring through the skies of Magnolia.

"D-dad… Is it really you? W-where were you?" Rogue muttered under his breath. Skiadrum laughed.

"I was always with you, son. You just never looked deep enough. I was in the shadows all this time" Was the dragon's hearty reply. I smiled at the silly, yet serious dragon. Then , Rogue did something I would never expect. He broke down. He sobbed, he cried, he gasped for air.

"YOU'RE AN IDIOT, BAKA, STUIPD, MORON, JERK!" Rogue could only shout out insults at his dragon, before calming down and sobbing again.

Rogue's POV  
I cried, and I found comfort in my father's black scales. This made no sense.

 _Why is he here? I thought he was dead! I don't understand._ My mind was scattered. I was happy, but confused. I was angry, too, that Skiadrum decides to just conveniently appear after all the heartache he's caused me. Not only that, but I was sad. Sad that I wasn't able to tell my dad how I really felt. Sad that I hadn't been able to meet him sooner. I was sad, but I was happy. I was angry, yet I was confused. I didn't understand any of this. Why was he a celestial spirit?

Lucy read my mind, and began to talk.

"You never really killed him. Skiadrum changed your memories so that you believed that you did. The Spirit King decided to give them a second chance, and made yours and Sting's dragons spirits. The king gave them to me, and told me to let you meet them when I thought that you were ready. So, here he is. He never really died"

I was dumbstruck. What just happened? Well, Skiadrum was here now, that was all that mattered. The wind died my tears, and that was when I realized the sight before me.

We rode of the back of the mighty dragon, in the clouds, literally, and overlooking the town lights. The wind welcomed us, and whistled through our hair. It felt as if nature was trying to comfort me. It would take a while to get used to, I know, but right now, there was one feeling, now that I've realized where I stand, that is prominent among the others. Happiness. My dad was back. He was home. He didn't leave me. I smiled, and it was genuine. It was the brightest smile that I was able to muster up in front of my old dad, who had come back to me, and my new friend, who had shown new things to me. These feelings, I can't deny, I finally opened up my eyes. Lucy flashed a sad smile, before returning to her toothy grin. Skiadrum also looked back at me, wearing the same expression. With a sigh, I laid down on my back.

I felt like the luckiest person in the world. I had my dad, one of my best friends, and we were overlooking the kingdom that I loved. Everything was perfect.

At the Guild, Nobody's POV  
Erza ran into the guild, and, not even bothering to run to Mira, yelled from across the hall, "LUCY AND ROGUE ARE A THING!" Everyone looked confused, as did Mira.

"A thing? What do you mean a thing?" Natsu asked, cocking his head to one side.

"T-they were hugging, a-and they were holding hands!" Erza panted, tired from running. Her face was red, but it wasn't because of the unexpected running. Mira squealed, and fainted, and Natsu got distracted with the delusional mage, leaving Gray to run out of the guild hall alone. A few minutes passed, and Gray came rushing in. His face also red.

"Well, what is it boy? Is it true?" Macarov asked, his brows furrowed.

"HE WAS HUGGING HER FROM BEHIND WHILE THEY HELD HANDS!" Gray shouted, making all the girls of the guild squeal, while all of the males, who were overprotective of their only celestial mage, had deadly auras. Everyone turned to Macarov, who was crying comically.

"Really! And here I thought that I was going to have great grandchildren" Master whined, earning a furious blush across Laxus' face while he looked down, muttering something about murder. Natsu was the most taken aback, and everyone, including Erza backed away in fear when they saw his expression.

"Nobody touches MY partner! Not MY Luce!" The said mage yelled angrily, running out. Everyone gulped. _Who knew that THE dense Natsu could think that much?!_

Meanwhile, at Sabertooth.

"Thought Projection" Rufus muttered, and the sight he had witnessed appeared on lacrima vision, large enough for everyone to see. They all gaped at the image, Rogue and Lucy holding each other, Rogue pinning the said girl on the ground, while they stared into each other's eyes.

"Woah! I never knew that Rogue could get a girlfriend! Nonetheless a blonde beauty like _Lucy!_ " Orga shouted, fist pumping the air. He earned cheers of agreement from the crowd, and the memory mage smirked as he searched for their Master, only to see the reaction he was hoping for.

"Rogue… I'll kill you if you try anything" Sting whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear, and for everyone to know to get out of the dude's way, before he killed someone. Even Minerva gulped. Wait, Déjà vu? Sting ran out of the guild hall at full speed, practically running people down.

Rogue's POV

I leaned in closer, interested in what Lucy was saying as we landed back on the cliff we were previously on.

"As I was saying, almost all of the dragons were reborn as spirits, because they were being held captive by future you. But when he died, the dragons started to fade away again, but the Celestial World took them in, giving them new keys, now known as the Gates of the Reborn Souls. There are the main, most powerful dragons, which would be the parents of the dragon slayers that we know, like Skiadrum, Weisslogia, Grandine, Metallicana, and Igneel. I have all of their keys, except for Igneel's. Then, there are the Gates of the Tortured Souls. These are also dragons, but they are the ones who were manipulated and tortured, hence the name. However, these are the _strongest_ dragons ever known. This includes Acnologia. I have all of their keys, except for Acnologia's. I won't go into much detail, though. I'll tell you some other time. Anyway, I've been sent on a quest to collect all of the dragon keys, and I'm almost done. I also have all the keys of the Gates of the Dragon Souls, which are the regular dragons. SO that's basically it, how to sum everything up" The blonde finished, slightly out of breath. I understood the concept a bit more, but my brain was drawn to another thought. Lucy and Acnologia. I didn't like the sound of that.

"How will you find Acnologia and Igneel?" I questioned, concerned for my friend's safety.

"Dragon Quests. It's the formal ritual. I call out the dragons to sense other dragons and their locations. I already know where Igneel is. The hard part is making the contracts. I have to fight them. Skiadrum was the toughest one so far" She commented, glancing over her shoulder to the dragon, who just smiled confidently. My eyes widened. She defeated _dragons?!_ She saw my expression and chuckled.

"I'm not _that_ strong. SO I usually end up in the hospital for a few months after every fight. Though I never tell the guild that. They would freak out" the blonde said casually, looking out at the night sky. I sighed.

"Sometimes, you're as reckless as Natsu, you know that? I just… don't want you to get hurt" I finished lamely, looking away. She turned to me and smiled sadly.

"I know, and I'm… scared, too. But I have to find the keys. Or else… something bad will happen" She replied, not meeting my eyes. I nodded in inderstanding. There were some things that you couldn't tell anyone, even those closest to you. Then, she suddenly got up.

"You guys wait here, I want to walk around a bit. Take the time to catch up, all right? See ya!" Lucy said cheerfully as she ran behind the bushes. I turned to my dad, who winked.

"You liiiiiiiikkkkke her" the dragon cooed. I rubbed my temples. How did that remind me of an annoying, blue exceed? I just turned away again, a bit of pink dusting my cheeks.

"She's a keeper, though. I should know, since I'm the one who agreed to serve her. Man, was I surprised when she beat me. I've never known a mage that strong. But it wasn't her physical srength that beat me. It was her passion and her wits. She gave me a heartfelt speech about how she did everything for her friends, and she was constantly coming up with new defense and offenses during the battle, changing strategies and studying me. I think that's why she was able to beat you, even in your shadow form. She told me" The dragon said, winking at me again. I nodded, smiling.

"She sure is reckless, though, isn't she?" I pointed out, in which dad just nodded wholeheartedly.

"Totally! There was this one time where she summoned me _and_ Weisslogia at the same time, and summoning one of the dragons, even a normal one, is the equivalent of summoning about, oh I don't know, 12 of those gold key thingys?" dad stated, a little confused at the concept of the normal zodiac gates. I chuckled a bit, since I didn't really know much about stellar magic myself. When I felt brave enough, though, I spoke up, my face serious.

"Why is it so important that Lucy finds the Dragon Keys?"

"Because, as of now, she's the strongest Celestial Spirit Wizard in Fiore, and she's the only one strong enough to carry the burden. Think about it, she has 10 of the 12 most powerful keys, the Zodiac" I looked at Skiadrum with distaste. He was hiding something from me.

"What burden are you talking about?" I was even more confused now.

"The burden of sacrifice. There's a high chance that she'll lose her life on this quest. But, on the other hand, she faces the burden of expectation. If she fails, she will never be able to see those she loves again, due to certain reasons. Now, be quiet child. I can not give you further information" Skiadrum said, disappointment in his eyes. I heard a rustling behind me, and the dragon disappeared, leaving me to turn around a look towards a celestial mage, black key in hand as she sighed.

"I would tell you more, but it's top secret. Only the Magic Council, the Celestial Spirit King, and I have complete information about this. Even then, though, we don't know everything" Lucy sighed as she attached the key back to her key ring.

"Where'd you walk off to?" I asked.

"There was this shop off of the edge of the woods nearby. I got a limiter there, because summoning dragons takes a lot of energy, but I expand my magic container and energy every time I do it, so it sort of trains my body each time. So basically, I needed another limiter. These things are annoying, though" the blonde whined as she tugged on a very uncomfortable looking ring, in which its jagged edges were probably cutting into her skin.

"Hey, why aren't you surprised?" She asked, noting my stoic expression.

"Well, you smelled different from before, and you were super powerful, so its only obvious that you would learn powerful types of magic. But still, I _am_ a little shocked that you're a dragon slayer. Celestial, if I'm correct. Who was your dragon?"

"I didn't have a dragon. The king taught me, since he not only govern the spirits, but all the forms of celestial magic. He was kind enough to, but it's still considered dragon slaying magic. I was pretty disappointed, though, that there wasn' such a thing as a celestial dragon. But that always arouses more questions. For example, why does celestial dragon slaying magic even _exist_ if all celestial dragons are dead? I'm still surprised myself at the mess that I've gotten myself into. I only became an official slayer just recently, but I started the Dragon Quest when I found out the Igneel was Natsu's father" Lucy explained, her brows furrowed. I stood up, and dusted off my pants.

"Anyways, we should get goi-" I was cut off by a flash of pink and yellow bursting through the bushes and into the clearing. Immediately, I grabbed Lucy, but she was snatched away.

Natsu's POV  
I growled at the other two. "What are you doing with MY Luce?" I interrogated, my voice dangerously low. Rogue looked confused and Sting looked angry. He echoed the question back, clearly towards Rogue and I this time. I hugged Lucy protectively from behind, and I gently whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Did he do anything?" She shook her head, and I sighed in relief. As the other two slayers were sending death glares at each other, I backed away, Luce still in my arms.

"We're going to your place" was all I said, and I ran there, never letting go of the protesting blonde.

When we got there, I locked the window and the door, and pulled down the curtains. Throwing Luce onto the bed, I pinned her down, refusing to let go until she gave me some answers.

"I- I was just talking to Rogue!" She protested, staring at me in the eye.

"Erza and Gray said that you were hugging and stuff!" I whined, staring back at her. She flushed red before denying it.

"No! He was helping me with my posture for a new spell that I learned, so he needed to position my back and hands! It only looked like we were hugging!" She exclaimed, squirming. Sighing, I laid down next to her, before flashing her a grin.

"Let's go to the guild!" I said cheerfully, finding an excuse to hold her hand. I saw Lucy sweat drop at my sudden change in attitude, and I laughed. Luce was weird, and though I was even weirder, it's not like I noticed that.

When we finally got to the guild, I looked at Lucy expectantly, who just sighed. She's been sighing a lot recently.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. We'll go on a job. I'll pick something out, so go talk to Lisanna or Mira or something" Lucy waved me off, and I frowned. _Does she think that I still have a thing for Lisanna? No way, I clearly told her that we broke up… Right? Maybe I didn't? OR maybe I just don't have good memory? Eh, whatever, I'll go talk to Lis._

"Sup Lis!" I shouted, making my way over to the white haired mage, who was blushing. She then turned to me, and waved cheerfully.

"So, how are things with Lucy?" she asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. I pouted, and she understood. Then it was my turn to tease.

"So, who's this mystery man you've been blushing about, eh?" I poked at her, remembering how she told me she liked someone.

"It's…" She trailed of, and my curiosity got the better of me.

"It's…?" I echoed, waiting.

"It's… It's Dan Straight" She finished, making my eyes bulge out.

"WAIT, WHAT?! YOU LIKE DA-" Lisanna cut me off, covering my mouth with her hand.

"He's so romantic! I bumped into him, and he gave me a speech about true love! Kyaa~ He's my knight in shining armor!" Lisanna squealed, her eyes turning into hearts as she went into complete fan girl mode. Backing away slowly, I went back to Lucy, who had chosen a job with high pay.

"Oh, cool, you found a job. What's it on?" I asked, no wanting to waste my time reading.

"Well, it's just a request to take down a dark guild near the edge of town. Their hideout's in the forest there. You should be able to sniff them out, though, so I'll doubt that we'll get lost. What can go wrong, am I right?" Luce cheerfully pointed out. I was still a little anxty about this, though.

"But this is to take down a WHOLE Dark Guild, and Erza's not coming with us… are you sure?" I asked, although I knew the answer. With a vigorous nod, Lucy pulled me along, and out of the guild hall, heading towards the train station. I could already feel the nausea building up.

 **After the Train Ride**

Grateful that I wasn't stuck in that hellhole anymore, and that I was back on land, I kissed the ground, and happily laughed as I skipped in circles, earning stares from onlookers. Before I could proceed further, Luce started to drag me away from the station, heading towards the forest.

After walking for a while, Luce spoke up, "Do you smell anything?"

I stopped and sniffed the air, and I was led deeper into the forest.

"Yeah, they should be in front of us. I can sense some huge magical energy, too" I pointed out, though the original whisper had turned into my usual, loud voice. Coming up from the bushes in my excitement, I saw a whole guild of a bunch of messed up guys looking at me, as well as a royally pissed Luce.

"Oops?"


	12. What's My Dream?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima and all copyright laws apply.**

Lucy's POV  
I clicked my tongue in annoyance as another batch of mages came running out of the seemingly overflowing guild hall. I took care of them quickly, having Virgo drill holes under them while Loke punched them out. It was really simple, you just needed to use your brain. These fools come out looking all tough, but when it comes to actual battle plan and strategy, these guys were newborn kittens. I sighed as the rest of them were wiped out, or so it seemed. Then, a blast of water hit me, coming from an injured mage. It didn't hurt since Aquarius' shield took most of the impact, but boy did it drench me. I clicked my tongue even louder, angry that my favorite blue and gold trimmed shirt had just gotten ruined. Anger bubbling up, one of my limiters broke, again, and just the overwhelming energy knocked the struggling few left out. I side glanced over to Natsu, who was too busy eating a torch to notice anything. Walking up, I smacked him upside of the head.

"You idiot! If they had been stronger, we would've been in big trouble!" I scolded, giving the same speech that I seemed to give on every mission I happened to take with him.

"Aw, but Luce! It was super fun! I sure kicked their asses, though, didn't I?" Natsu went on, his hands lighting up in the process. I smiled, knowing all too well that my best friend wouldn't listen to what I said, even if Erza held him at point blank range. Interrupting my thoughts, though, I let out a violent sneeze as the sun set. Sighing, I picked up my bag that I left against a tree.

"The sun's down, and I'm drenched, so we should set up camp in one of the caves that I saw earlier. I _really_ don't want to spend the night in a dark guild in the middle of a forest" I said, walking ahead as Natsu quickly caught up. Looking at my still drenched state, he mumbled a quiet agreement, and we walked in a comfortable silence to a nearby cave.

We got there about ten minutes later, but my clothes were still wet and I just looked down in defeat. I sat down near the fire that Natsu had started, and snuggled closer to my companion as he sat down next to me. I didn't dare go closer to the flame, for I knew that I would just burn myself, so I hovered my arms over it, hoping to dry my sleeves at the least. When my attempt showed no results, I cursed silently. I guess that I can't underestimate magic, though why would anyone have a spell to keep people drenched? Wait for them to catch a cold, oh I don't know, about a million years later and then attack them while they're blowing their nose?

"Hey Natsu, can you dry me up?" I asked, surprising the dragon slayer.

"S-sure!" He stuttered for some unknown reason. I'm not sure how much I trust my best friend's flame control, but he should be fi-

He wrapped his arms around my waist, and as much as I wanted to protest, my body immediately snuggled closer to his warm body, though his toned chest against mine didn't go unnoticed by my self conscious.

"What are you, a heater?" I joked, sighing in content. He didn't reply, but I felt him getting slightly warmer. I craned my neck slightly to look at him, only to see him blushing. Seeing that, I started to blush too.

 _Idiot, why are you blushing?! You never blush! He freaking SLEEPS with me almost every other week, so why is her blushing?! Wait, I never even knew that he_ _could_ _blush!_ I mentally screamed as I buried my face in Natsu's arm, not wanting him to see my flushed expression.

"Hey, Lucy, your face feels warm… did you catch a cold?!" he yells, pulling up my chin with his forefinger and thumb. The sudden eye contact makes me squirm under his gaze, and I'm desperately trying to calm my beating heart, while yelling in my head as well as willing myself not to blush an even deeper shade of red.

"Y-y-y-you IDIOT!" I yelled in a panic, all of a sudden tackling him.

"Hey what are yo- OH MY GOD!" Natsu yells as his head makes contact with the concrete. MY clothes were dry now, but my face was still warm. Natsu looks at me, surprised, confused, and a little hurt as he rubs the back of his head. Getting up, I quickly apologized while bowing, in which he waves it off as he sits up to look at me. I shifted under his gaze once again, but I was getting near my breaking point. When I saw that he was about to step closer to me, I knew that my heart couldn't handle this anymore.

"Star Dress Transformation! Aries!" I transformed, immediately making a solid, pink wool wall between the boy and I. Natsu tried to burn through it, but his attacks just bounced softly on the magical wool. Converting back to my normal clothes, I slumped against on of the cave walls in defeat. Changing into my pajamas and snuggling into my sleeping bag, I blocked out the whines of the fire mage, my mind revolving only around one thought.

"Do I still have feelings for him…?" I whispered to myself, my mind starting to wander as I drifted into a beautiful thing called sleep.

Natsu's POV  
The next morning, I woke up to an un-barricaded cave, and I blinked in surprise as I saw Luce cooking some food. Looking at me, she sipped a smoothie that god knows where she got, and popped a fresh blackberry into her mouth. I yawned sleepily, reminding myself that I left Happy at the guild, noticing that the blue exceed wasn't here. Handing me my plate with a smile, I accepted the offer of food, and I looked down. She made some sausage links and fried eggs, as well as a bit of toast.

 _Must've gotten in from the spirit world_ I thought as I began to chow down.

"So, what's the plan for today?" I asked, chewing my food gratefully.

"Well, I checked in the middle of the night, and I cast a sleeping gas over the mages, so that they didn't wake up. All that's left to do is to hand them in and to collect the money. At least, we have money to collect since you managed not to destroy anything" She pointed out, glaring at me a little. I shrunk back a little, fearing for my life, but then popped back up when she exited demon mode. I sighed in relief. I really think that her sighing habit has rubbed off on me. I just pulled her by the arm as she hurriedly cleaned up her stuff, trying to resist my insistent tugging. She tries lifting her bag, but she can't reach it, because I'm still trying to pull her towards the exit impatient. All of a sudden, it turns into a game of tug of war.

Lucy pulls back, but I pull back, too, wanting to get out of the old cave and into the outside (funny). I glanced out of the mouth of the cave, getting a glimpse of the vibrant plants of the forest, and the sun. Then, I direct my eyes upwards, towards the bright, blue sky. I always knew that Igneel was up there, somewhere, flying up high and watching over me. While I was distracted, Lucy gave one last tug, I had tumbled on top of her as we both fell down. We looked at each other, but this time, neither of us blushed. We just got lost in each other's eyes. When I smiled and offered a helping hand, Luce took it, and pulled herself up along with her bag. I ran out, with her in tow, and I looked up at the bright sky once again once we came to a clearing. I temporarily forgot about everything as I thought about the vast, big sky. There was so many things that I've never seen or even heard of. The thought alone made me excited.

"Hey, Luce, do you know what my dream is?" I asked, disrupting the silence between us.

"Hm? Isn't it finding Igneel?" Luce asked, something else in her eyes.

I shook my head slightly, and pointed upwards.

"Sure, but that's just a motivation, something that'll help me later on. My real dream… Is to be able to go all the way up there, and to fly" I said, watching as a white cloud rolled over the blue canvas. Lucy looked as if she was contemplating something, but she wiped off that look and giggled slightly, touching my arm and telling me I was silly. We then continued to walk towards the dark guild, ready to tie everyone up and get them back to the magic council.

Lucy's POV

On the way home, I ran my hands through Natsu's soft hair, sadness in my eyes. I wanted to tell him, I really did, but I couldn't bring myself to. It wasn't that he wasn't ready for it, it was just that _I_ wasn't ready. I told Rogue, I even managed to tell Wendy and Gajeel at some point. All that was left was Sting and Natsu. Sting would be easy, but still… I couldn't bring myself to face my best friend. A little part of me told me that I should tell him, but I couldn't stand to see the heartbreak on his face once I told him that Igneel was the only one missing. I ruffled my hair in distaste. I would just tell him. Even if he got angry for me keeping it from him, there was nothing I could do. When we came to Magnolia, we departed as Natsu, once again, celebratedbeing on land with a little victory dance. Remembering what he said, though, I looked up. The sky was pretty.

"You want to fly, huh…?" I whispered to myself, and I wondered what my dream was. I was doing this dragon quest for others, but I never really had a dream of my own.

We arrived at the guild, and everyone greeted us cheerfully. Sulking, I made my way over to the bar, my new realization weighing me down like a ton of bricks. Mira nodded at me, smiling, as she handed me my usual smoothie, and knew that I wasn't in a good mood. Taking a seat and putting my head down, I didn't even get a chance to breathe before I heard Levy bounding towards me. Smiling to myself, I turned around to see a very happy- and blushing- Levy.

"Lu- chan!" The blue haired girl yelled, jumping onto me in a tight bear hug.

"Hey! What's up? You seem happy" I pointed out, laughing, my bad mood suddenly gone. My eyes widened as I saw Levy start to fidget and blush even more, and I smirked in understanding.

"So, did something happen~?" I asked, grinning, knowing full well the answer.

"Gajeelaskedmeout!" she blurted, panting from the sudden outtake of air.

"What? I didn't hear you~" I sang, smiling.

"Gajeel h-he, um, h-he a-asked me o-out" she said, blushing, steam coming out of her ears. I heard Mira squeal as she ran over, and soon, all the girls in the guild had surrounded my friend, bombarding her with questions while they left males hanging, some only midway through sentences. I giggled at the usual sight of my guild, and I walked away from the crowd, not wanting to get trampled over.

"Yo what's happening?! Is it a fight?!" Natsu yelled, perking up from his conversation with Erza, who happened to be one of the few sane females left.

"Nothing you would understand" was my blunt reply as I started to drag Natsu by the ear out of the hall.

"Ow! That hurts Luce! Where are we going?" Natsu whined, trying to resist my iron hard grip.

"I- I need to talk to you" I said, softly, even though I knew perfectly well that the boy could hear what I said. Straightening up, we walked in an awkward silence, something that rarely ever happened, and continued to make our way to my apartment. Once we got there, though, my calm composure broke as I told him everything in a rush, flinching and closing my eyes, waiting for Natsu' reaction. It wasn't what I thought it would be at all.

He laughed merrily, and picked me up, twirling me around.

"That means you know where Igneel is! Yosh! We can find him together!" He yelled, shocking me.

"Y-you're not mad that I-I didn't t-tell you?" I stammered, my heart beating in my chest.

"Huh? Why would I be mad? I know that you kept it from me, but we all have our secrets. And although I may not be able to always hang around Igneel, it's better knowing that he's alive and safe" Natsu finished, cocking his head to one side. I had told him everything, everything except for the teensy weensy fact that I may or may not be a dragon slayer…

Natsu stopped talking for a moment, and he sniffed the air, also apparently listening to something.

"There's something you're not telling me" He said, apparently listening to erratic beating of my heart. I panicked, to say the least. I lit matches, almost burning down the house, in attempts to lure Natsu with food. When the floor caught on fire, I stumbled to the bathroom to get some water, not even thinking about using my elemental card magic. I face planted and bumped into a wall, splashing water everywhere and getting myself wet. Natsu watched with curiosity, though, not concerned about the chaos that was I at this particular moment. When I finally was able to think coherent thoughts, I put out the fire, bandaged my face, and situated myself in fixing my already neat bed.

"Hey-" I cut him off not wanting to hear his next words.

"You know, I'm going to work on my novel now so… bye!" I exclaimed hurriedly, pushing the salmon haired pyromaniac out of my apartment. Locking the door, and rushing over to do the same to the window, I sighed in relief. I was beginning to regret telling Rogue that I was a dragon slayer as well. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to use memory magic to change things up a bit. This should be interesting.

Gray's POV  
I looked around the guild hall, hoping to see Lucy, but with no luck. I really wanted to ask her if she could maybe give me a few new ice spells, seeing that she had elemental magic and all that she showed me. Sighing, I turned to Juvia, who was too busy tackling Levy to the ground, after hearing about her friend's love interest. I shook my head at my girlfriend's silly antics, loving her free will. I smiled to myself happily, and I knew that I was lucky. MY love life wasn't complicated, it was straight to the point, no harm done. I always hated love triangles, because I knew that someone would always get hurt. And that already happened in our guild, inclusive. But now, oh boy, Lucy's got it tough. That's right, I know all about this, and it's mostly because I'm not dense like Natsu. If a love triangle was tough, how will Lucy handle a love square, which also includes the two most powerful mages of our once rival guild? This would turn out to be interesting.

Sting's POV  
My eyes widened at Rogue's story, which Lucy had told him to pass onto me. Boy, was I excited. My short lived happiness was quickly thrown aside, though, as I glared at the stack of paperwork in front of me. Reality was cruel. I felt Minerva's glare from downstairs, though, and I set straight to work, not before taking a longing look out of the window and towards the sky.

Rogue's POV

I sat in my room, thinking about everything. I had some much on my mind, and so little time. If only life was a bit easier. I stole a glance at the shadows, and I smiled to myself. The shadows always comforted me, but… I looked out, spotting the blazing sun. IT was so bright, yet it was something that even I couldn't resist. I fought the urge to run outside, and I got up, heading to my desk to file some complaints for the guild.

Natsu's POV

As I waited outside of Lucy's apartment, I looked up at the sky again. I swear that I could've saw Igneel in the clouds. I wasn't that surprised at the new information. I mean, after all, Luce was still Luce, right? If anything, I'm more encouraged now to find my dragon parent. Igneel was always there, and he still is. I just need to find out where. I sighed contentedly, waiting for my best friend to let me in again.

Erza's POV  
I didn't know why, but I felt like there was trouble brewing somewhere, and when I looked at Master, I saw that he was thinking the same thing… not. Of course, the old geezer was drunk yet still going on with Cana. I face palmed as I stepped outside, taking in a breath of fresh air. I smiled as I spotted a bakery near by and decided to 'check it out'. IN other words, I was going to raid them ad rob them of their strawberry cake supply. I licked my lips in anticipation, enjoying the feel of the wind in my hair as I began to run. Problems could wait until later. For now, I just wished to continue my silly, carefree, Fairy Tail life.

 **Sorry if this chapter was a bit short! I'm determined to update at least every other day! Peace out!**


	13. Kukyo- Emptiness with a Promise

**I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima and all copyright laws apply.**

Lucy's POV  
I sighed, _again,_ for the umpteenth time that day. I really needed to fix this habit son but, for now, I had bigger things on my mind. I felt bad about it, I really did. I erased Rogue's memories involving my being a dragon slayer. I knew that I really should've asked for permission to erase those memories, but I couldn't help it. He knew what he needed to know, but… something just didn't feel right. I felt that it would affect him in some way. Laying back on my bed, I stared at the ceiling. We were in some kind of danger. I had 10 of the zodiac gate keys, was a past princess, but now I'm a multi magic mage. Of course I was going to be kidnapped, like last time. But… something was _definitely_ wrong this time. I don't know, but I could just feel it. I haven't seen any of the usual signs of being followed, which I have learned to spot in the last few years, but I always felt a magical presence lingering. It was strong, powerful, yet discreet. Being restless, I jumped off of the bed, and started to get ready to go to the guild hall. Maybe Master would know something about this. Well, that's what I hoped. Slipping tying my hair up into a ponytail, I busied myself with other things, forgetting about my current problem for a while.

Master's POV

When Lucy walked over to me in a hurry, asking for a talk, I wasn't surprised. She must've noticed it, too. The only other person who I've seen actually take notice of the situation was Erza, but it was only by a little. Nodding, we headed to my room, where I locked the door behind us and drew the curtains. Hopping onto my desk, I nodded at Lucy to show that she could speak.

"Look, Master, I've been feeling as if _someone,_ or _something_ , has been following me lately. I've left it alone for now, but lately I've been feeling a strong magical presence around _that_. What do you think it could be? It definitely has magic, but it's _definitely_ not on our side here" She said, her eyebrows creasing in worry.

"Yes, my child. I've noticed it, too, whenever you leave or enter the guild lately, there's been a slight change in the magical aura. It was definitely a dark mage, whether he or she's in a guild, though, that I have no clue. I can sense trouble brewing up, though, so be careful. Also, you might not want to reveal sensitive information to others, so that they won't be targeted" I said cautiously, looking down. Bowing and leaving the room, I watched as the blonde mage walked out of the room, her head held high. I clenched my fists. Nobody was going to hurt my children, not again. I wouldn't allow it. However, what I knew was that sacrifices had to made sometimes.

Lucy's POV  
I wasn't going to let my friends get hurt. Definitely not this time. I've been too selfish lately. I've never gotten over the Phantom Lord incident. Too many people were hurt, and all because of me. My family's done so much for me, the least I could do was show them how much they've made me grow. I smiled at everyone in the guild hall, walking with a new confidence, and with a new goal. Sitting at my usual place, I made small talk with Levy.

"So, how'd the date go?" I asked bluntly, getting straight to the point.

"It was actually really romantic… He took me out for a picnic by the lake, and even played a song for me on his guitar, though the moment was kind of ruined because it was heavy metal music…hehe" she chuckled, and I rolled my eyes at the irony. And what was more ironic was the iron in it. My, my, so many puns. I giggled along with the girl as we proceeded to talk about how sometimes boys could be so weird. Clapping my hands in delight at this one story about how Droy completely embarrassed himself, I was having a good time. Levy always knew how to cheer me up.

Natsu's POV

As I saw Lucy start to walk away from Levy, I started to go to her, but I stopped, sniffing the air. _There's something following her._ Before I could call out, she had walked out of the guild hall, her previous cheerful expression replaced by one of worry. Without a second thought, I ran after her, trying to be as quiet as possible. _What is that? It has a huge magical presence, yet…_ I looked around once again. I didn't see anything suspicious, and that was sort of freaking me out. Fearing something was going to happen, and knowing that I couldn't do anything, I ran back, hoping to speak to Master. Something was wrong.

Lucy's POV  
I felt it again, that presence. I also felt Natsu behind me, but when he ran off in a panic, I started to panic. Breaking out into a run, I pushed past people, past the crowds on the streets, and tried running towards the forest. It wasn't the smartest idea, trapping myself there, but I needed somewhere to be confronted privately. I ran faster. _I can't let anything happen to anyone, especially the innocent citizens of Magnolia._ Thinking this, I ran at my fastest pace, knowing that whatever was following me was still hot on my tail. Looking behind, I only saw a very subtle movement in the space behind my head- almost as if it was being warped. Time and space magic was dangerous. My eyes widened as I broke through some leaves, bringing myself face to face with the abundant forest. Backing up a bit, I examined my surroundings once again, only to have no luck. Taking off my limiters, and all of them, I felt the magic pile onto me, but that still didn't give me a sense of security.

"I thought that it would take longer for me to be found out. Impressive. Let me introduce myself. I go by the name Kukyo" a male voice came form behind me. Turning around, I saw a tall, muscular man, with black hair and sharp, golden eyes. The eyes held so much potential, yet they felt like they were soulless. I thought about his name for a moment, before pinning it down.

"Y-your name is Emptiness?" I asked, fear dripping on every word.

"Yes, but as much as I would love to chat, I have to take care of something. Though I doubt you'll go down without a fight. I shall explain while we battle. Be prepared, Lucy" Kukyo said, and charged at me, his fist raised. Dodging out of the way, I started to use my dragon powers, a rare sight.

"Celestial Dragon's Holy Touch!" I shouted, and placed my forefingers on Kukyo's head gently, a white light emitting from them, leaving him frozen. I sighed, thinking my work was done, but the man just chuckled.

I didn't waste time, and jumped back into action.

"I SUMMON THEE! LEO GATE OF THE LION!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my panic rising to a while other level. This guy just brushed off one of my finishing moves. He was going to be tough. Leo appeared next to me, and fought along side me, while I continued to throw punches and kicks, not one of them landing on its target.

"Dark Chant: Soul Reap" Kukyo said a little too quietly, sending spiky shadows towards me. I dodged, not giving up, nor willing to give in. I finally landed a hit no him, with my dragon roar, but his shadows also managed to catch me. They strangled me, while the remaining stars from my attack strangled my opponent. We both screamed in pain, and our spells immediately dispersed. I needed to finish this fast.

"I summon thee! Gate of the Reborn Souls! Dragon Duo!" I yelled and Weisslogia and Skiadrum appeared next to me. Leo, the dragons, and I continued to attack, but it wasn't long before I sent Leo back. Regular Zodiacs wouldn't get me anywhere with this powerful mage.

"Zen, I summon thy dragon, heed my call and do thy commands" he chanted, and a huge, silver dragon appeared, facing off with my dragons. He called out another, red dragon, this one apparently called Fio, and I engaged myself with focusing on getting hits in.

"Urano Metria!" I shouted, aiming at Kukyo as he released a black orb towards me. We both hit each other, and fell to the ground. I was panting, and sent my dragons back, knowing that I couldn't keep them out for long. Zen and Fio also disappeared somewhere, and I slowly pulled out my katana, staggering to my feet. Kukyo followed suit, though much more stable.

"You… are a rare mage, and I need you to become apart of my plan" Kukyo said as our swords clashed.

"What… what plan? Why do you need me…?" I questioned, keeping up as I tried to trip him up.

"My plan to turn back time" Kukyo explained, panting.

"That's a lost magic! The last wizard who did that died!" I shouted, shocked.

"Yes, that's exactly why I need your magic. You're strong, and will last for a long time while having your magical power drained. I'll convert that power to energy, and I'll be able to turn back time… to rule the past so that I wouldn't have to suffer… so that I CAN RULE THE WORLD!" he laughed maniacally, stopping me in my tracks, and took the opening to stab me in the shoulder. Wincing, I backed up against a tree.

"Holy...Jud…ge" I tried to continue, but immediately blacked out from the lack of blood. I was a mage, but I was also human. Damn it.

Kukyo's POV

I picked her up, and opened a portal to my lab. My plan was going to work. I was going to get rid of those filthy aristocrats, and rule the world. I'll show everyone what it means to be treated like how I was. That way… she'll be proud… I'll show her… I'll show mom…

Stepping inside, I placed the Lucy inside the crystal lacrima that I had so painstakingly made. The plan was going to be put into motion…finally.

Opening a can of soda, I smiled to myself as I savored this moment, the moment where everything began to fit into place.

"It'll work… it definitely will…" I whispered to myself, brushing some of my hair through with my hands.

Natsu's POV

When I heard the shouting, I knew that it was Lucy. Master, the rest of my team, and I ran towards the forest, only to find half of it burned up and lots of footprints. Smelling the air, I knew that Luce was definitely here. Seeing some blood on a tree, I growled in anger. _How could I let this happen again…? I should've stayed._ I cursed myself, and I shot worried glances towards Erza and Gray, who looked ready to kill. Following Luce's scent, it stopped at the tree, and then it disappeared. I felt a lingering magical presence, though, and I immediately knew what happened.

"They… used a portal" I said quietly, knowing how hard it would be to track them down now.

"I knew something was wrong… I should've paid more attention" Erza said, clenching her fists.

"Yeah, me too… I can't believe that I let this slip past me…" Gray muttered, his eyes ice cold. I fist lit up, and I knew that I had to find her. She was my best friend. Thinking of something, I told Master what I was thinking. Dragon slayers would be really helpful right now, and I happened to know two more…

Sting's POV  
We got the call, and I grew angry, and I saw the same deadly aura around Rogue. Waving to the guild as we walked out, we ran to where they said they were, not wanting our friend to get hurt. She was precious to me, and I just knew that she was precious to Rogue as well. I clenched my fists, trying to not let my anger take me over. I saw Rogue having a little more trouble, though, as his shadows were swirling all over the place, lashing out occasionally. I looked down, feeling guilty. We didn't even know what happened, and we never even thought that something like this would happen. I was too careless. I bit on my bottom lip, ignoring the little bit of blood that drizzled out. If this guy was able to beat Lucy, then we were going to be in big trouble. Arriving there, we greeted, and nodded as we accepted the information present.

"Let's ask that card mage of yours if she can track her" Rogue suggested, and I nodded in approval.

"We also have a fortune teller, so that might come in handy" I pointed out, wanting to do everything in my power to help out. This was going to prove a challenge. I couldn't beat Lucy when she didn't even use half of her power, so I really don't know how this will turn out. And frankly, a small part of me didn't want to find out. Nothing lasted forever, and I knew that my relationship with Lucy was no exception, but… the least I could do was savor the moments that I had left with her, right?

Rogue's POV  
It pained me to say the least. Lucy had showed me so many new things, introduced me to new feelings, yet here, another one was born. I was never angry, but now I was. How dare someone take her away? I was hoping that, even if it was only for a little while, I could be friends with her for a bit longer. But no, there was no way that something that good could be reality? I needed to get her back, and even if it was just some dream this whole time, I want to be with her more. That's all I wanted. That's all I asked for. Was it really that much?

Master's POV

I was angry. Whoever did this, they had hurt one of my children. This was completely unforgivable. I trembled in rage, my eyes glowing.

"We WILL get Lucy back, understood? No matter the cost, no matter the pain, we WILL get her back… We can't let her get hurt anymore than she already has" I said, my voice booming. Everyone shook their heads solemnly as they departed, leaving me alone. They were going to get information, I knew, but I felt strange. It was almost as if I was… afraid. This was new.

If it's possible, studying the patterns of the footwork and taking a closer look… my eyes widened. IT couldn't be, could it…? Kukyo…? Lucy was in trouble, and I ran to the guild, needing to go through some old files. This was bad. If something went wrong, Lucy could become, would become… I shook the thoughts out of my head, running along the pavement with a deathly gleam in my eyes. Nobody should have to go through _that._ That was even worse than death itself. I wasn't going to let that happen under any circumstances. It couldn't happen, could it…?

Lucy's POV

I woke up in a crystal lacrima, much like the one I was in during the whole Nirvana ordeal, but this one was much larger. I felt weak. Was this thing…? My answers were found as I looked around, spotting some tubes, and I knew that my magic was sucked out. This was going to be a fight of will and physical power. I willed my magic to condense, and tried to not lot it get sucked in. Keeping this up, I used al of my strength, which was a lot, and pounded against the crystal surface. A small crack was made, but it was so small, I almost didn't notice it, and I only did because of some light reflecting on it. Pounding again, the crack grew a little more, and I smiled a bit. I could do this. I didn't have my keys, but that didn't mean I was weak without them. Even without my magic, I was strong. I could do this… okay, just a little bit at a time. I raised my fist back, determined.

My hand was bleeding, but I managed to make a small hole in the lacrima. Taking a bi of energy, I shot at one of the tubes, and I felt a little better as magic flowed into me. However, I was exhausted. I slumped down, cradling my hand. I wouldn't get out today, but there was always tomorrow.

. . . . .

The next day, I followed the same pattern, creating cracks and shooting tubes. Surprisingly, I didn't see Kukyo come, so I was in the safe. When I had all the tubes shut down, I knew that it was safe to use my magic.

"CELESTIAL DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" I yelled, shattering the lacrima. Feeling accomplished but sore, I stepped out of the shattered orb, and kneeled down on the ground.

"Oh? Has my little toy broken out? What a shame, I have a back up, only because I'm not stupid" I watched as Kukyo walked in, an amused expression on his face. Grabbing my keys and whip, I started again.

"CELESTIAL DRAGON'S ROAR!" I shouted, stars coming out of my mouth, temporarily blinding him. Taking my whip, I tripped him, but he just got back up and shot dark, pitch black beams at me. When one grazed my arm, it burned so much, and I had to restrain myself from stopping and crying out. WE went at each other's throats for about an hour before I started to get tired. I wasn't getting anywhere.

"Elemental Decomposition! Air!" I used one of my old tricks, and I was shocked to see that it worked. Taking this chance, I stabbed his shoulder, or at least I thought that I did. He just sighed as he teleported behind me, stabbing me in the same place as last time, where the wound hadn't healed a bit yet, either. I just now noticed the pain and flinched. Closing my eyes for a moment, I willed myself not to give him the pleasure of hearing me scream. Apparently that was a bad move. When I opened my eyes again, I was in another lacrima, and collapsed in defeat. I couldn't just give up. When he left, I was going to try again. But… where were they? I knew that I couldn't always rely on them, but I felt lonely, and I could only think of my friends. Drifting into sleep, I comforted myself with happy thoughts of them coming for me. We were always going to be together, today, tomorrow, and forever… Right? Nothing would, or could, for that matter, change that… I thought.

 **Sorry, I know it's a bit short, but school's been keeping me busy lately ;(. The weekend's here, though, so I'll be sure o update longer chapters!**


	14. Successful and Beaten

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail. All rights go to Hiro Mashima**

Lucy's POV

It was like this, the same routine for the past few weeks. I would break out, he would find out, we would fight, and then he would trap me. Honestly, it was quite annoying, but he knows not to underestimate me. Well, I _definitely_ know not to underestimate Kukyo. I broke through the lacrima and climbed out. Smirking, I prepared myself for him, and when he walked in, I wasted no time.

"Open, Gates of the Zodiac!" I yelled, summoning all of my keys. Charging forward with all of them, we raced forward, managing to get a lot more hits than usual. Catching him by the leg with my whip, I promptly dragged him towards me, and my magical whip restrained him from using his magic. I delivered a swift Holy Judgement straight to the face, sending him flying into a wall.

"You've gotten stronger, this will be troublesome for me, but will prove well for the plan" Kukyo said as he clicked his tongue in annoyance. Running towards me, he used his regular dark charms.

"Dark Charm: Blood Vines!" he yelled, and vines filled with thorns came after me. I swiftly cut them down, and managed to get a solid stab on him thanks to my teleportation.

"Urano Metria!" the spell only grazed him, but it was enough to hurt him so he couldn't stand. Instead, he kneeled.

"Who said I had to move to fight?" he questioned, and I put my guard up as vines, shadows, and beams shot at me. Barely dodging them, I started to slowly make my way over to him. One of his Shadow Beams hit me in the back, though, and I smashed into the opposite wall of him. Knowing not to close my eyes, I chewed on the inside of my cheek, resisting the pain. Getting up shakily, I held out my sword, sending back my spirits.

"I won't give up, you know?"

"You're very stubborn…"

"I know"

"Tch"

"HEY! Don't 'tch' me! Fight me!" _OH lord, I was beginning to sound like Natsu…_

"Heh, if you want to get pummeled, you've asked the right person"  
"What was that?!" I exclaimed, running, unsteadily, at him. He did the same, and we clashed swords over and over again, though he eventually fell, his stab wound bleeding profusely now. I smirked, but it wasn't long before I had to set my sword down to rest. Catching my breath, I shot a glance over to the tired mage. When he wasn't looking, I bolted. Nope, no warning, no epic speech, just straight up ran. He didn't notice, I think, until about half a minute later, where I heard a distressed 'HEY!', but I was already out of the exit. The only problem was that I was in the middle of some unknown forest in a town i didn't know existed...

Wandering slowly, which probably wasn't the best idea, I stumbled a bit, inhaling the fresh air. At least I was out of that hellhole, even if it was temporary, because I know that that wasn't going to be last I would be seeing of Kukyo. Sighing, I laid down in a clearing, letting the grass caress my cheek as I stared up at the sky. It was still so blue, so bright, but right here, right now, there was something off about it. Maybe it was because my vision was basically swimming in circles because of my wounds. Summoning Virgo to heal me, I plopped back down on the grass and relaxed a bit.

After a while, I had woken up from an apparent nap, and I stretched out, looking around. No Kukyo here. Walking a bit, I saw that my wounds had healed, and my magic was at full strength. Putting on some of the limiters I had taken off, apparently I hadn't taken them _all_ off, there was this one forgotten earring, which I actually thought was a legitimate earring. In my head, I could just imagine Aquarius face palming at my idiocy. Hehe. Sometimes I missed her, well, of course I did. I wasn't going to not miss the key that I had my entire life. Now, well… her key was broken, and she's been reborn somewhere else… Shaking my head, my thoughts returned to the problem at hand. Escape. Well, that was going to be a tough one.

Natsu's POV

Cana said that she was somewhere in Flower Field, a neighboring town, and that she was somewhere in a forest. It was very vague, but it was the best that we could get at the moment. However, Saber's fortune teller showed some very… disturbing images. There was Lucy, and she was crying in a blood soaked battlefield, but then, she was in a hospital, and there were these really old people, and she was holding their hands, crying. I saw one old man with a flash of pink…

I growled. Whoever made Lucy cry will pay, for sure!

"What are we waiting for?!" I shouted, punching the air.

"Come on Fairy Tail! Let's go find her!" I exclaimed running out of the hall. I heard faint cheers behind me as I ran at full speed, not even minding the fact that I was about to ride a train. Luce was all that mattered right now. I can't stand to see her cry… It just _hurts_ so much. I ran faster, feeling the blood pump through my veins, with Erza and Gray close behind. Pushing through crowds and jumping in the train, we all sat impatiently as the train, quite slowly, might I say, departed. I tapped my foot, imagining all of the pain Lucy could be in right now. Sting and Rogue were going to head there a day after us, so they could arrange some things as to who will be in charge of their guild while they're gone. Looking out the window, I kept my eyes glued to the railroad tracks, occasionally glancing up at the gray, stormy sky.

Lucy's POV  
Great, now it was raining. Running to a cave, (Man, I had good luck with caves), I scrambled inside, warming myself up as I studied the inside wearily. It was very large, and I was pretty sure that it was haunted, but it wasn't like I had the privelege to complain right now. Plopping myself down, I sat, watching the rain start to puddle up outside. Hugging my knees to my chest, I started to wonder if my friends would ever come. Stroking my keys to calm myself, I willed myself to stay awake while I listened to the monotone whispers of the rain. I thought I could handle this, but I guess I was wrong. I really am hopeless, aren't I? I'm not sure what the future holds anymore…

Sting's POV  
I ran to the inn, meeting the others there. Smelling the air, I knew that Lucy was definitely here. I was going to save her, no matter what. I had to, after all she's done for and shown to me. _Don't lose hope, we'll be there soon. I'll definitely save you…_ I thought, clenching my fists even harder as I heard reports from the others.

"Any luck?" Rogue asked, his eyes showing quick flashes of many emotions, his eyebrows creased in worry.

"No, I have her scent, but it's all over the place… like someone warped it or something. I can't seem to track her down… damn it!" Natsu yelled, punching a hole into a nearby wall. I bit down on my tongue, hoping that the pain would distract me, but it didn't work.

"SCREW THIS!" I yelled, and started to run into the forest.

"I agree, we can't just stand here!" Rogue yelled, running after me. Hearing more footsteps, I turned around, and saw everyone running after us. I managed a small smirk, knowing that with all of us, Lucy could be saved.

Rogue's POV  
This was no time to get frustrated. Lucy was the only thing on my mind. She was strong, that much I knew, and I knew that she would always have faith in her friends. There was no way she was going to give up. The thought of her being hurt angered me. There was no way that I was going to let her be hurt. I've never seen her cry, and I wasn't planning on going to. This made me run faster, cutting down leaves and trees in my way, trying to trace her scent.

"Did you pick up anything?" I asked as I caught up to Sting.

"No, Natsu was right, her scent is all over the place!" He shouted, cutting down another large tree. This probably wasn't the best for the environment, but I didn't comment.

"Yeah, but the weird thing is, sometimes my ring will glow, you know, the ring that Lucy gave us?" I said, glancing at the currently ruby dragon on my finger. Sting looked at his, and the ring was also glowing, except his was a sapphire blue.

"Maybe it's a sign!" Sting shouted, and I considered it. There was a high possibility, so that meant if I was correct, she should be somewhere around here… we broke through some bushes, and came face to face with a run down building. I sniffed the air, and Lucy's scent was really strong here. Silently high fiving Sting, we ducked down, and used the communication lacrimas that we always had on hand.

"Psst, I think we got the location" Sting whisper yelled into the device. Natsu nodded, and using his dragon senses, started to make his way towards us. Turning off the lacrima and putting it away, we smirked as we heard a roar, signaling that Natsu was telling the others of our location. Cracking my knuckles in anticipation, I was preparing to swoop in and save the day, but then the door swung open, and out came a tall, muscular black haired man. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and started tapping his foot.

"I know you're there, so come out already you morons… Lucy isn't here, she escaped, but I'll just catch her again. She's very stubborn… but makes a good playtoy" the man said, and it angered me.

Jumping out with Sting, we charged at the man, who all of a sudden disappeared somewhere. I growled in frustration.

The others came up a bit later, and we explained the situation.

"What did he look like…?" Makarov asked, and I thought back.

Master's POV  
"Well, he was muscular, had black hair, and he had this weird spider tattoo on his forearm" Sting said, and I became angry just at the mere mention of the cruel man.

"That man in known as Kukyo, and has taken many lives in the process of using Time Ark magic, a lost magic. I believe that Lucy will be his final, as well as successful, victim" I said, venom in my voice. The situation was worse than I had originally thought.

"Oh~ you've done your homework, Dreyar-san~" an all too familiar voice chanted, and I turned around to be face to face with the man we were just talking about. Both of his hands were behind his back, and I heard something rustle as he walked up, but he kept on his cool face.

"Kukyo-" I began, but started to feel light. Looking down, I saw that my body was fading, and I snarled.

"What did you do, you bastard?!" I yelled in anger as my body began to fade even more.

"Oh, you're to much trouble, so I'm sending you home. See ya~" he waved, and I disappeared in a flash of light. Opening my eyes, I was back at the guild, and I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. This was a battle that the kids would have to win…

Natsu's POV

My eyes widened as I saw what Kukyo was hiding behind him. IT was Lucy. She was unconscious, but was gagged and tied up. Without a second thought, I had run forward, my fist on fire. Rogue and Sting followed suit, except with their respective magic types.

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, diving in to hit him in the face. He blocked it with one hand, and threw me, making me smash into the building.

"WHITE DRAGON'S ROAR!" Sting yelled, but he soon joined me in my crumpled state.

"SHADOW KATANA!" Rogue lunged, only to have his katana broken, and most likely his face as well as he was smashed into the ground with one hand. Jumping back up, I continued to attack, while Erza and Gray started to sneak in from behind.

"Lighting Empress Armor!" Erza shouted, slashing with all of her might as she joined Gray, who had wielded a sword made of ice.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

"WHITE DRAGON'S ROAR!"

"SHADOW DRAGON'S ROAR!" All of us lunged at him at the same time, knowing that there was no way that he would come out unscathed. However, he disappeared, and we all hit each other, wounding each other severely with the uncapped magical power. I had been stabbed in the gut, Sting had been burned with my flame, Gray had been consumed with shadows, Rogue was electrocuted, and Erza was bleeding from multiple places. We simultaneously fell down, panting. Then, Kokyo reappeared, unscathed and not even breaking a sweat. He burst into laughter.

"HAHA! PITIFUL! WEAK!" He shouted, clutching his sides, still laughing. I glared at him, and stood back up, not giving in. Sting held onto the wall for support, Erza and Rogue leaned on their swords to stand up, and Gray had steadied himself with his free hand.

"ICE MAKE: CANNON!"

"BLUMBENBLATT!"  
"HOLY RAY!"  
"SHADOW CRAZE!"  
"DRAGON SLAYER'S SECRET ART: CRIMSON LOTUS!" We all yelled out our attacks, and charged.

Lucy's POV  
I opened my eyes sleepily. Using my magical energy to singe off the gag that I had on, and the ropes that bind me, and I shook my head in frustration, knowing that I had let myself be kidnapped. My eyes widened, though, when I saw the sight in front of me. Everything was all smoke and ashes. My blurry vision was focused on Erza, throwing attacks while bleeding heavily from her stomach. I saw Gray stab and slash with icicles, where he had cuts all over his own body, and a dark aura occasionally surrounded him, making him choke out in pain. I cringed. Sting and Rogue were launching powerful combination attacks, but both were bleeding from every area of bare skin, and they had burns all over them. I almost threw up. Natsu was throwing punch after punch, kick after kick, missing multiple times and making a wound from his gut open wider while he was covered in scratches, burns, and stab marks. My eyes darted to an injured, yet amused Kukyo. Seething with anger, I watched as the said man started to cut all of my friends down, one by one. He was laughing, and went into that crazy state of his that I had only seen once. Standing up steadily, I ignored the pitiful croaking's of my name from everyone, and went to stand behind the attacker. He turned around, eyes wide at first, but then he broke into a wide smile.

"Come to join the party, have you?" he questioned as he looked at me straight in the eye, that is, after stabbing Erza one more time. I looked at him with disgust, taking my sword and stabbing him in the shoulder, in which he responded by laughing even more. There was something wrong here.

Then, I realized what was happening. He had thrown my keys and whip off to the side, leaving me to fight without the advantage of 2 against one, or even better, 13 against one. Seeing the way e recklessly threw my keys, though, angered me. And it did _a lot_. Stepping back, I glared at him, a glare that had only one thing in mind: extermination.

"No more nice Lucy, you've crossed the line this time, Kukyo" I said quietly, taking in his reaction with hatred. Without a second glance, he punched Sting in the gut behind him, and continued to talk to me.

"Oh, is that so? How interesting…" he chuckled, finally managing to get Erza and Gray to faint from the blood loss. Mavis knows how Sting and Rogue were standing, but at least they were.

"Celestial Dragon's… Blinding Star" I whispered, breaking all of my limiters. Bright orbs of light surrounded me, and temporarily blinded my opponent. Taking the opening, I dived in, throwing some knives I had hidden in my boots. They hit him in multiple areas in his chest, and he looked taken aback for a moment. _He's too distracted_ , I thought as I landed a kick onto his lower back.

"All right, I've been too lenient… Dark Charms: Death's Door!" he yelled, knives made out of shadows appeared, aiming for me while chasing me around. I couldn't use my gate keys, but I could still transform since my keys were close by…

"Star Dress Transformation: Saggitarius!" I yelled, and promptly shot down all of the knives by merging holy magic with my arrows. Kukyo used it as a lure, though, and he punched me into the ground, creating a good sized crater. Jumping back up, I tried to use my elemental magic, but it didn't work.

"What the…?"

"Hehe, I have some nullifiers, you know. But it only works for your weaker magic types, like elemental magic. Well, it makes things more exciting, doesn't it?" Kukyo purred, seemingly unfazed as he stabbed me with my own knives. I staggered, holding my hand over an open wound. I ran up once again, refusing to give up, seeing that Natsu, Sting, and Rogue were helplessly watching now, stuggling to get up.

"Aquarius Star Dress! Tidal Wave!" I shouted, sending pulsing water towards a very amused Kokyo.

"You think water can hurt me?" he mocked, and I growled.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT ABOUT AQAURIUS!" I yelled, and the water turned boiling hot, burning him.

"URANO METRIA!" It successfully hit him right after my water, and I was proud.

"Hah, what do you say now?" I taunted, running up from behind and tripping him up with a low roundhouse kick. As he was about to fall, I propelled him back up into the air with another attack.

"CELESTIAL DRAGON'S ROAR!" The attack sent him flying into the air, and when he came back down, he hit a tree. I took out my katana, preparing for a comeback.

He stood up slowly, and cracked his neck. I was about to charge again, but I stopped short when I finally took in my surroundings. I was being so selfish. I was totally ignorant to the state that my friends were in. They were all bleeding profusely, covered from head to foot in cuts, and here I was, leniently taking my time in defeating Kukyo. Delivering a swift kick to the head, I backed up and picked up my discarded keys.

"Celestial Spirit World: I contact thee, let thy pass through the gates!" I yelled, and in a golden flash, we all disappeared and reappeared inside the guild hall. Everyone rushed towards us in a panic, especially Master, and I just made sure that my friends got to the infirmary.

"Lucy, what happened?" Master asked worriedly.

"I'm pathetic, I can't even protect myself, and this happened all because of me…" I spat, punching a table. Everyone looked surprised, though some looked sorry and others were just plain confused.

"No, it wasn't your fault. Even I had a hard time defeating Kukyo…" Master said, his eyes filled with truth. Mine widened, and I put a hand over my mouth. He wasn't done with us, not yet…

"I-I need to go…!" I exclaimed, scrambling out of the guild as a new realization dawned upon me. _He's toying with us…We've fallen straight into his trap… How did I not see this coming? I need to find Igneel!_ Running through the streets of Magnolia once again, I ignored the looks I got from strangers who watched as I practically flew to my apartment, my magical energy in a frenzy as my limiters were broken and I was in a panic. _This isn't good…_


	15. Element of Surprise

**Discalimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy's POV

Having collected all of my things, I was now back at the guild's infirmary, guilt creeping up on me. Sting stirred, and I ran up to him.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" I asked, worried.

"Just fine, Blondie. Nothing can kill the Great Sting" He replied weakly, yet confidently. I held his hand, and rested my head on his chest.

"Hey… When I come back… I have something I need to tell you…" I whispered.

"Huh? What…? Are you going back?!" he exclaimed, sitting up, but winced and laid back down.

"No, don't worry, but I need to find someone, so that things will get better. It's also for the best if I leave, I've caused everyone enough trouble" I explained sadly, not wanting to give away too much. Sting gripped my hand tighter. He looked at me in the eyes, his expression serious.

"I'm not letting you out of my sight again. I can't stand the thought of you being taken away from me again…" he trailed off, his voice now barely above a whisper. I smiled at him, thinking about how cute he was right now.

"You don't need to worry, I'll always be here for you" I whispered, and kissed his forehead. Softly taking his grip off of my hand, I walked away, and went to Natsu's room. Looking at his sleeping figure, I smiled a little wider.

"I'm going to go find Igneel, don't worry, I'll make sure that we both come back safely" I whispered, not wanting to wake him up. With that, I left the infirmary, and Fairy Tail, for the time being. I exited the building as usual, as if I was going to come back later, but I knew that that wasn't going to happen. Pulling my hood over my head, and tugging at my suitcases, I dropped my smile.

"I summon thee, Virgo…" I said halfheartedly yet sturdiliy.

"Yes, Princess?" She asked politely, appearing beside me.

"Can you take my things to the Spirit World?" I asked, bowing in debt. Virgo looked startled, and replied hesitantly.

"O-ok, as you wish, Princess" I watched as she vanished, and sighed. I needed to do this, or else there would be nothing that I could do to stop Kukyo.

"I summon thee, Weisslogia!" I shouted, trying to keep my enthusiasm up.

"Hey, Lucy. Long time no see!" The dragon replied happily, and I waved in reply.

"Hey, Weisslogia… Can you take me to Tenroujima? We need to find Igneel…"

"As you wish"

I climbed onto the mighty dragon's neck, and as soon I sat down, we departed, soaring high up into the sky and beyond the clouds. I looked back at the retreating figure of Fairy Tail.

"See you soon…" I whispered, my voice being drowned in the wind.

Sting's POV  
I held my head in my hands. I let it happen again. I let her slip through my fingers, yet… I didn't feel worried. She said she would be by my side forever, and celestial wizards don't break promises… but everyone goes at sometime or another. So…how long was Lucy's forever?

Natsu's POV

I heard her voice, I really did. I was awake, and I wanted to call out, to tell her to stop, to say that it was too dangerous to go alone, but my voice wouldn't work. I didn't have the strength to get up and face her. Lucy always told me that I was so much stronger than her, but now, she's the one taking charge while the most I can do is lay down and watch the fate of my friend, whether it be good or bad.

Erza's POV

I didn't say anything, staring up at the ceiling as I heard Lucy's retreating footsteps. I looked over to my side, where Jellal was resting on a nearby chair. I smiled to myself. I always thought that I was the strong one, but now… _Good luck, Lucy. I know you can do it._

Gray's POV  
I felt so bad… I couldn't do anything for her. She was a sister to me, and when I went to save her, she was the one who ended up saving us. And now, she was going off, probably risking her life, to find a _dragon_ , to only save us all again. Putting my hand on my forehead, I stared out the window, chuckling and shaking my head. She was so reckless sometimes. I guess that Flame Brain rubbed of on her. _Fight till the end…_

Rogue's POV  
Yukino looked at me worriedly, and I smiled to assure her. I held her hand, but I was worried. Lucy was going off again, going off to defeat a legendary beast, to defeat a dragon. And she was all alone. Well, I guess in that sense, she was always alone, fighting her own battles behind the scenes. I gripped Yukino's hand tighter, and stared at her in the eyes.

"You think… Lucy will be alright?" I asked the beautiful mage.

"I know she will… She's strong, you know that" Yukino replied, though her smile was stiff. As I sat up, she hugged me, and I held her to my chest.

"You're right… I hope. Yukino, thanks for being here for me, it means a lot"

"No, thanks for being here with _me._ Rogue, you always no how to cheer me up. Besides, Lucy is way stronger than she lets on…" I nodded my head, gripping tighter to the girl for moral support. _You got this, Lucy._

Lucy's POV  
I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as the wind welcomed us. Looking back, Magnolia was nowhere in sight. Right now, we were flying over the wide, open sea. I lay on my back, watching the clouds roll past the sky. I fingered the key necklace that I got from my mother. _Can I really do this? Defeat the King of Fire Dragons? I have to try…_ I was beginning to doubt myself, but I shook my head. Then, I heard small voices in my heads, as if someone was trying to communicate something to me. Shooting up, I focused on the voices. Realizing what it was, I sighed. My friends were so silly at times. I giggled, earning what seemed to be an approving look from Weisslogia. I laid back down, letting go of my necklace. I guess I still had that childish part of me… there were some things that couldn't be worked off.

 **TIME SKIP**

I thanked Weisslogia once we landed, and sent him back to rest. I also needed to replete my magical power. Sitting down a rock, I glanced around at the beautiful island before closing my eyes to meditate. Ethernanos basically restored my magical energy, and were found in the air…

"Meditation is the best way to collect Ethernanos… Mavis sure knows a lot" I said to myself, echoing the first master's words. Emptying my mind, I went into a peaceful state, my breathing steady and my posture straight.

Igneel's POV

I was resting, but an incoming of a huge magical presence woke me up. _Is that Zeref again? That damn boy needs to stop waking me up…_ I grumbled to myself as I got up, walking wearily out of my cave, preparing to give the boy a scolding. Something stopped me in my tracks, though. This magical presence wasn't Zeref's… It was much too pure to be his… Converting to my human form, I silently stalked through the wildlife of Tenrouijma, but my eyes widened when I came to a clearing. There was a blonde haired mage, meditating. I watched in surprise as the Ethernanos in the air basically flocked to her. Noticing the limiters she wore, I was pretty impressed. My eyes drifted to her side, where I saw zodiac keys. Impressive, ten zodiacs, strong silver gates… AND ALMOST ALL OF THE DRAGON KEYS?! WHAT WAS THIS WOMAN, MAD? I gaped, not realizing that the woman had noticed me.

She cleared her throat to get my attention in mouth gaping state.

"Ahem… Who might you be…?" her voice was polite, yet firm, and I knew not to mess with her… WAIT! I have nothing to be afraid of! I am a dragon!

Smirking, I ran my hands through my hair before converting back to my original form.

"I am-" She cut me off by pulling out one of her keys.

"Igneel, I challenge you to a duel for the right to possess your key" she said, surprising me. How did this woman know-? Roaring in laughter (pun intended) I accepted her challenge by trying to launch a surprise attack.

"FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" I roared, flames coming out of mouth and burning everything in its path. Oops. I was confident that I had won, but when the smoke cleared, she was standing in a different yellow and blue dress, protected by a barrier that seemed to be composed of water. I was too shocked to process what happened next. Weisslogia and Skiadrum were behind me, ht me with powerful roars and kicks, and then, I was laying on the ground, being pinned down by the two dragons.

"I take it that I have won this battle? But, for some reason, it seems as if you were not focused. Would you like a rematch?" the girl questioned politely, sending away the dragons. Normally, I would immediately take the offer, but something about it touched me. Here, she defeated a dragon, even if I _was_ out of my game, but she offers a rematch to make things fair? I laughed once again, and stopped her words.

"No need, you won fair and square. Now, we can make our contract later. As for now, however, may I have your name…?" I questioned, wanting to know the name of the mortal who had beat me with the element of surprise, something I had failed to do.

"Lucy Heartfilia, it will be a pleasure working with you" Lucy broke out of her polite shell and flashed a heart warming smile, something that I couldn't help but return. Throwing her the key that I always had tucked under my wing, I said a farewell as I felt myself being pulled into the Celestial Spirit World.

Lucy's POV

Once Igneel had disappeared, my knees buckled and I fell to my knees. I was so scared. I had kept up my strong front as much as possible, and it was by a miracle that I had actually been able to defeat such a mighty dragon. Even then, didn't really defeat him, I just gave him a shock big enough to make him stop moving. It probably was because I was still standing after his first attack, but I had barely been able to keep up the barrier, and I swear that I saw my life flash before my eyes. Sighing, I took a few minutes to calm myself down. I was used to the other dragons, but seeing a dragon _king_ is a whole new experience. It would take me a while to get used to. Well, I'm happy that it was so easy, at least. The only injury I got was a slight burn, which did hurt, but that was the best I figured I could make with out of a fight. Using that shield for such a strong attack took a lot out of me, though. Sitting back on my original rock, I decided to pump up my magical energy once again for the journey home.

Zeref's POV  
I looked around the island, but saw no sign of Igneel. It was weird. By now, he would've probably woken me up and given me a lecture about how I interrupted his sleep or something like that. Wandering around, I watched in sadness as the trees died, and took a detour that allowed me to avoid the trees and animals. I was on the shore, now, which was surrounded by sand, rocks, and water. It was pretty here. I ducked, though, when I felt magical energy radiating off of someone. Maybe it was Mavis? Nah, I think she hates me. Going a little closer, I realized that it was that Blonde Fairy mage. Great, why'd there have to be a Fairy here? If anything, I'll probably hurt her, and then start another war with her guild. Standing up, I started to walk towards her.

She looked up, but didn't seem surprised.

"Hello. Do you need anything from me?" She asked, shocking me that she wasn't scared.

"You- aren't you afraid of me?" I asked, cautiously, aware that this may as well be a trap.

"Eh, whatever. Answer my question" She replied nonchalantly.

"Um, have you seen a dragon around here, his name's-" She cut me off, surprising me once again.

"Igneel? Oh, I defeated him and now I have his key, with his consent, of course. What relation do you have towards my spirit?" She questioned me once again, not batting an eyelash.

"Nothing, what are you doing here? A storm's going to come soon" I observed taking in the sky.

"Someone remind me why I'm talking to Zeref?" She muttered under her breath.

"Same goes for me" I replied, glaring at her. She laughed at me, and stood up.

"Well, I'll be going now…" She said, but I called out to her.

"Didn't you just hear me? A storm's coming, taking a boat will be dangerous…" I trailed off, knowing full well that it would be better if she just died, which meant less fairies for me to try and avoid.

"I'm taking a dragon. And no, I'm no stupid enough to take a Fire dragon in rain… Open, Gate of the Dragons! I summon thee, Silvia, the elemental dragon!" She shouted, and a silver dragon appeared. She hopped onto the dragon like it was completely normal, and waved to me.

"Interesting chat that we had. Right now, I just defeated a dragon king, so I'm kind of in a shell shocked situation. Maybe that's why I'm not afraid of you…" She explained, and rode off on her dragon, disappearing into the clouds.

Well, that was interesting.

Lucy's POV  
I groaned. Things were complicated in the first place, so of course the Dark Lord Zeref had to come into the picture. As long as he doesn't bother me, it'll be fine. I looked at Igneel's key, and I smiled a bit. At least I was one step closer to being able to protect my friends. What confused me, though, was what Zeref had to do with Igneel, and how he would fit into this picture later on. Well, _if_ he would fit into the picture, in which I really hope that he doesn't. Why did everything have to be so complex? Well, now that I had Igneel, I would have to find Acnologia. Time Ark magic was a lost magic, but the dragons were ancient, and there had to be some sort of nullification. Plus, with the Reborn Souls' combined strength, there was no way that we couldn't defeat Kukyo. There was one thing that disturbed me, though, about Kukyo's magic…

FLASHBACK

" _Crux, what can you tell me about Kukyo?" I asked, wanting to get some information down._

 _"He's a very dangerous wizard… He desires to rule the world, and has attempted Time Ark magic multiple times, but he has never been successful, and it has cost many lives. What makes his magic so dangerous, though, is that it cannot be tempered with or tainted by any other source of magic. He wants to use this art to go to the past, and if the magic is tainted, there can be severe circumstances. He also feeds off of his power from a crystal chamber underground, formed hundreds of years ago. It was formed with the strongest primordial magic, and nobody has been able to destroy it. That means that he is invinsible, but there is a way to destroy the crystal. That is…_

 _FLASHBACK END  
_ "That is to use the combined strengths of those even more historic than his power itself" I repeated, looking down at my keys once again.

The only answer that I could come up with to the riddle was the power of the ancient dragons, and I'm pretty sure that I'm correct. If I'm not though, I don't know what I'll do. My dragon slayer magic might also work, but I wonder if the rules for the Time Ark magic also applies to this crystal chamber…? If that's the case, then we won't be able to touch it, and Kukyo will… I shuddered at the thought. I really didn't want to finish what I was about to think. I had to stay positive.

"Silvia, where's Acnologia?" I asked the dragon, earning a wide eyed stare.

"Child, don't tell me you mean to go and get his key? You mustn't! It's too dangerous!" Silvia yelled over the roaring winds. When it had started to rain, Silvia had created a barrier, so I was thankful for that.

"I have to. It's the only thing that I can think of in order o defeat my opponent. I don't exactly want to go after him myself, but we have to face it: He's the strongest dragon of the Reborn Souls. I can't use the ones stronger than him, because those keys are basically brand new, in terms of lifespan" I explained, expecting an hour lecture of how I should be more careful from the mother- like dragon. Instead, she stayed quiet, and I peered down at her, only to find that she was crying softly.

"W-wait a moment! Why are you crying?! I'll be c-careful! Do-don't cry, damnit!" I yelled, flustered. Silvia just shook her head as the winds dried her tears.

"It's just that you've grown so much stronger since the time I met you. Back then, you were still only a little girl on the inside, but now… You're a respectable woman. I'm proud of you, and will support you in any way I can" She said, a small smile gracing her face. Seeing that she had stopped crying, I sighed in relief and patted the dragon's head soothingly.

"I hope what you say is true, because if it was otherwise… I might as well be dead" I whispered the last part to myself, knowing that it was too scary of a reality to think of. Not that I hadn't almost died before, and I already witnessed my future self dying…. Yet it still seemed so unrealistic. The fact that my happy life, and everything I hold dear to me, could all disappear in a blink of an eye. Life was too short. I want to be with everyone forever…

 **Sometimes, I wish that I could even live forever**.

Be careful what you wish for, as they say.


	16. What Have I Become?

Lucy's POV

The wind tousled my hair, and I let it loose from the high ponytail that I had put it up in.

"Ah, this feels so good!" I exclaimed, earning a chuckle from the great dragon I was riding on.

"And here I thought you would've gotten used to it by now" Silvia said, being the motherly figure I had in my life.

"Who could get used to something as I awesome as this?" I replied, seeing a faint blush taint Silvia's cheeks. Seeing that we had been flying for about an hour, I asked her to land on an island that was directly below us.

"Huh? Why are we stopping?"

"Well, you've been flying for a long time, and I don't want to overwork you. Also, it's basically dark already, so I should go set up a camp somewhere" I pointed out, already being able to see the faint glow of the moon arising from the clouds.

"Oh, if that's the case, I'll take my leave. See you later!" Silvia shouted out hurriedly as her gate started to close, leaving me alone. Shrugging my shoulders and stretching out my arms, I woke up my legs from the long flight. I then took in my surroundings. The island was filled to the brim with beautiful plants, flowers, fruits, and trees. Smiling in content, I chose a clear area near the shore, seeing that it was basically surrounded by edible fruits and vegetables. Of course, I could call Virgo to get me some 5 star gourmet meal, but I wanted to sit back and enjoy nature for once.

My mind set, I got some of my supplies from the Spirit World, and began to set up a tent and prepare some fire. I was interrupted, though, while I was in the middle of hammering down the stakes with a rock. I heard a rustling noise in the bushes, and stood up slowly to inspect the sound. Drawing a knife from the inside of my jacket, I held it in front of me dangerously, heightening my senses to try and spot the disturbance. Closing my eyes, I heard another rustle, and immediately threw my knife straight to my right. Hearing a thud, I went to investigate, but found, surprisingly, a pale Zeref as the knife I threw landed centimeters away from his left eye, firmly lodged into a firm tree.

"Woah, sorry there…" He trailed off, regaining his composure. I merely laughed at him.

"What are you afraid of? You're freaking immortal!" I shouted over my laughter. He looked away, a tinge of annoyance, as well as embarrassment, in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever" He groaned, rubbing he back of his neck. Realizing the situation I was in, though, I brandished another knife, charging it with holy magic and taking a defensive position.

"What do you want and why did you come here?" I asked, shoving him against a tree while holding the blade millimeters away from his neck. He merely sighed, apparently unalarmed.

"Look here, I just wanted to speak with Igneel" He said, his eyebrows arched up now, probably wondering why I was even so defensive in the first place.

Letting him go, I closed my eyes and massaged the back of my neck.

"As I asked you before, what relation do you have with my friend? This is such a pain…" I trailed off, cracking my neck, wishing that I could just have a massage right now. I was tired, and wanted nothing more than to just bite into some sweet fruit while falling into slumber.

"Well, he's basically my adopted father, since, you know,

SPOILER ALERT FORM THE MANGA

I'm Natsu's brother and all" He explained quite calmly. My eyes widened. Natsu never told me that. My mind numb, I took out my key, and summoned Igneel, sitting down on a nearby rock. A part of me was confused, but then, there was that one big part, tugging at me, my conscience, and making my chest tighten. I thought that we told each other everything… How come he never told me something as important as this? Counting the Tenrou incident, we've known each other for like, 8 years… we were best friends… best friends tell each other everything. Looking up, I examined the sky once again, thinking of Natsu. It was bright, as usual, but for some reason, I didn't feel anything except for pain. How could something so bright be so unreachable…?

Zeref's POV

"Now tell me, please, how you managed to be beaten by a mere _human_ , and a Fairy at that" I hurriedly yelled, glancing over at the seemingly hurt mage.

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'll have you know, my son is what you call a _fairy_ as well" Igneel retorted, ignoring my question. Tapping my foot impatiently, I repeated myself.

"Didn't you promise that you wouldn't get caught, no matter what it would take…? Anyways, this is going to cause _a lot_ of trouble for Acnologia, since he _really_ doesn't like humans, I _really_ don't want to deal with another one of his rampages. Remember what happened last time?" I scolded my own father, which was a little weird, but it had to be done.

"Hah, that old fart can do what he wants. King of dragons, my tail. I'm also a king, and I can do whatever I want!" Igneel whined like a child, and I simply sighed again. Turning around, I went to address the girl, apparently named 'Lucy' from what I remembered.

"Well, you can have him, but you're going to be in a lot of trouble from now on" I hinted, going to glare at Igneel only to find that he was cowering in the Celestial Spirit world.

"Huh? Why?" Lucy asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Acnologia doesn't like the dragons being caught because-" She cut me off, was this a habit for her?, and rambled on excitedly.

"Oh, Acnologia! I'm on my way to catch him right now, since he's one of the only dragon keys I don't have" I looked at her, shocked. She threw a knife at me, and I quickly regained my composure and dodged nonchalantly. She looked at me for a few seconds, then burst out into a fit of laughter. Already annoyed as it was, a vein popped on my forehead.

"And what gives you the right to laugh at me, someone who could easily kill you with one touch?" I asked, a little embarrassed and a little impatient at the same time.

"Sorry, it's just that you're so _weird!_ Before, when I threw a knife at you, you were so shocked, but when I actually held the knife to your throat, you were super calm. And then, when I said that I have the dragon keys, you were super stunned, but when I threw another knife at you, it was as if nothing happened!" She exclaimed as she tried to calm herself down, but only ended up in making herself laugh more. Watching her silly behavior, I couldn't help but crack a smile, because no matter how evil you may consider yourself to be, or how evil others consider yourself to be, the truth of the matter would always stay the same. Laughing was, in fact, contagious. Getting over myself, I asked her in a serious voice as I snapped back to reality what she was doing.

"You aren't really going to go after Acnologia, are you? I mean, even I can't defeat him, so you basically have no chance whatsoever" I told her, not minding the glare sent my way.

"Well, _excuse me_ for not being the lord of all evil, almighty Zeref" She mocked, and did a little curtsy, in which I responded with a bow of my own.

"Well, I need all of the Gates of the Reborn Souls in order to defeat an enemy. He's after me, and I think he's targeting my guild now, but I can only defeat him if- Wait! Why do you even care? If anything, wouldn't it be better for you if I die?" She asked, only listing out the facts. That was true, _why_ did I care? Well, she had to be someone unique to be able to make me laugh. Coming up with dazed answer, I simply replied,

"Looking after dad?"

"Why does that sound more like a question than a statement?" She shot back, and I leaned against the tree I was already against. Not coming up with anything, I shrugged.

"Really? That's all?"  
"I guess"

"You're weird"

I scoffed.

"Maybe that's because you're not used to evil" I said, closing my eyes slowly.

"But you're not evil, just cursed, right?" My eyes shot open.

"Curse of contradictions. If anything, the amount of live you've taken should just prove by itself how much you respect it"

"That's… the second time anyone's correctly identified my curse" I whispered to myself almost inaudibly, but, somehow, she was able to pick up on that.

"First was Mavis?" She asked, knowing the answer.

"How did you hear that?" I questioned, becoming more interested in this girl by the second.

"Dragon Slayer"

"Why have two types of magic?"  
"It makes me feel safe. Also, I need to be strong in order to complete my mission"

Lucy's POV

"Well, I'm going to go back and set up camp. This conversation was interesting, as well" I said, waving and turning to go back to where I previously was. He said nothing, and I sighed in relief at that. I didn't want to become more involved with him than I already had, yet… something about him was interesting. Maybe it was as he said, I wasn't used to evil? Looking at my tent, I felt a little defeated. This wasn't going to do. Kicking it down, I slumped down against the tree, eventually coming to stop as I stayed in that position, crouching down and staring at the earth below me.

"Let me call Virgo…" I mumbled to myself, wanting to have at least a sturdy camp. Was this what evil did to you? Make you feel like this? Well, no wonder evil was bad… but, Zeref wasn't evil, right? Right now, I'm more concerned with Natsu though…

Natsu's POV

It's been a few days since Lucy left, and I'm beginning to get worried. Everyone was almost fully healed, and the worst pain I had was just a few aches, and I was one of the more badly injured.

"I hope she doesn't do anything reckless…" I said to myself as I waved to the rest of the gang, who were making their way over to where I was sitting at the bar.

"Haha, you're one to talk, you idiot" Gray took his turn at cheering me up, and it worked. I cracked a smile.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, Lucy isn't the type of person to just run hysterically into a battle without a plan, right?" I reassured myself, and I knew that Lucy was fine.

Lucy's POV

Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Running hysterically into battle without a plan, I mean. Moving islands overnight, I had spotted Acnologia, and for some reason, I thought that it was a great idea to wake the slumbering dragon up, instead of taking the one in a million chance of defeating the dragon in its sleep, without a problem. Nope, now I was dealing with a _very_ angry Acnologia running, no, more like flying after me as I tried to find a suitable clearing to face off against the massive dragon.

"I WAS SLEEPING YOU IMBECILE!" He roared, and landed in front of me, blocking my path. Gulping, I chastised myself. Yup, this _definitely_ wasn't the best plan. Stammering, and knees buckling, I wondered what happened to my somewhat courage and determination from before.

"I-I-I-I CHALLENGE YOU TO A DU-Oof!" I tripped over air, it seemed, as I face planted, embarrassing myself. Acnologia sighed, and changed into his human form.

"Very well, don't want to kill you and risk being found out. Anyway, come at me" He yawned, picking some earwax out of his ear.

"I open thee, Gates of the Reborn Souls! Gate of the Fire Dragon, Igneel!" I yelled, and relief flooded over me as the said dragon appeared at my side.

"SUP!" He roared, earning a bored stare from the opponent.

"Oh, it's you" Acnologia said, uninterested.

"HEY! ACKNOWLEDGE ME, YOU OLD BAFOON!" Igneel roared, pissed off.

"What did you call me…?!" There was the tiniest bit of anger in the king's voice, and I backed up immediately, drawing my katana and lighting up with a bit too much holy magic, almost up until the point where I was a human flashlight. Hiding against a tree, I watched as Acnologia converted back into his dragon form.

Whispering, I used my ace.

"I open thee, Gates of the Reborn Souls, I summon thee, Gates of the Twin Dragons. Secret Art: Space warp" At my call the twin dragons appeared, joining the party, but were invisible and floated softly behind Acnologia, waiting for my signal.

Meanwhile, the two frontal opponents were butting heads, roar after roar, and I put n some ear plugs to keep my ear drums from tearing. When they both stopped to breathe, I gave the signal. Weisslogia and Skiadrum straight up tackled Acnologia to the ground, pinning him down.

"HOLY-" Acnologia cringed as the dragons appeared out of nowhere, and Igneel jumped, but his tail got caught in a tree, and he cried out in agony. Face palming, I sent the fire dragon back, not being able to take the comedy act. Bracing myself for the magical loss I summoned one of my new keys.

"I open thee, Gates of the Tortured Souls, Dame!" I was taking a chance, summoning a dragon from the same set of keys as Acnologia, but Dame was the king of the Tortured souls, so he was the most powerful dragon I had on me. I kneeled, all of the magic I was using taking its toll on me. I had two Reborn Soul gates out, and I had two Tortured Soul gates out, all at once on top of that. This was going to leave me with an ache later. Acnologia's eyes widened once he saw Dame, who I actually never fought. Dame wanted to come with me vouluntarily, so it was thanks to him that I was able to get most of the dragons.

"O-oh, how's it going, Dame?' he stuttered, obviously nervous.

"I don't have time for this… Dragon King's Secret Art: Temporary Death!" Dame shouted, and Acnologia fell unconscious instantly. Taking his key from under his wing, I sent the others back as I stopped to catch my breath. Looking at the watch I was wearing, it read 9:47. I've been out for almost a week. _I need to get back soon, before it's too late._

Master's POV

The guild doors flew open, and a shadowy figure emerged.

"Well, is this the famous Fairy Tail? It doesn't look like much. I'm Kukyo, nice to meet you!" The said man exclaimed, yawning at the end of his sentence. I glared at him.

"Get out of my guild…" I said threateningly, but he just laughed.

"Nope!"

"You leave me no choice… Fairy La-" I was cut off by a knife plunging into my stomach, and I sunk down in pain. I watched in horror as the hall was immersed in shadows, and saw my children, one by one, fall onto the cold floor. Feeling my own conciousness fade, I clenched my fist and pointed it towards Kukyo.

"Fairy Bind…" I whispered before I fell. A white, bright orb of holy magic left me, and sped towards Kukyo, tying him up, and leaving him screaming in pain.

"DAMN YOU!" Those were the last words I heard before I hit the floor as well, and I smirked in content.

Lucy's POV

I ran, gripping the handle of my whip, teeth clenched. _He's here. I can feel it. He's here. He's here. Why's he here? Did he hurt them? Why's he here?_ These were the only thoughts running through my head as I picked up speed. I was just outside of Magnolia. Breaking through some bushes, I saw the familiar street of my home. Being close enough, I thought of the guild, and immediately teleported there.

Once there, I busted down the doors, and choked back a scream. Everyone was sprawled onto the ground, but I didn't see any visible blood. _Thank goodness…_

I turned my attention to a very annoyed Kukyo, apparently wiping off some traces of magic off of him, burns all over his body as he winced each time he accidentally touched one of them. Kneeling, he turned to face me.

"Tch. Why are you here? I can't use them as bait now…" He growled, and I glared. Pulling out my whip, I flicked it at his feet, officially angry.

"Hah? Stop bothering me, pest. I have to take care of this scum..." Kukyo said in a tone I've never heard him use before. My magic flared up, and I yelled at him.

"YOU CAN'T JUST COME AND GO WHEN YOU WANT! YOU CAN'T JUST WALTZ INTO MY GUILD AND HURT PEOPLE WHEN YOU WANT TO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I WON'T ALLOW IT! I WON'T ALLOW IT!" I screamed going mad as I kicked down tables and chairs out of my way. "you can't…"

Taking my whip, I quickly snatched his neck, and drew him towards me. Strangling him with it, I took a knife charged with poison magic, and stabbed him square in the heart. He fell, but his wounds quickly healed, probably thanks to that stupid, stupid crystal underground. Throwing my whip at him again, I growled as he dodged it easily now his wounds were healed.

"Wow, you look pissed. It's actually a nice look for you" He said mockingly, dodging my attacks. My eyes widened when he disappeared, and I felt a blade stab me in the back as he reappeared behind me.

"I'm not that easy to beat, sweetheart, now if you'd just…" I interrupted him by turning around and punching him in the face.

Kicking his feet from under him, I had him in a choke hold. Tightening my grip, I stabbed him in the same place as before, not giving up this chance. I felt his breathing stop momentarily as I placed my lips on his neck. Placing a stigma on him, I raised my head, where my eyes were no longer hid by my bangs. I was angry. He had hurt them.

"If I can't kill you, then I'll make you suffer" I whispered, into his ear, and smiled when I felt him shiver. Charging my whip with lightning, I wrapped it around his wrists, binding him while he was being electrocuted.

"Celestial Dragon's Iron Fist!" That was only the start of the train of attacks that I sent to him. By the time I had vented out all of my anger, and could think clearly again, he was battered and bruised, and was bleeding from multiple places. I let him go hurriedly, and gasped momentarily. Had I gone too far? Shit, I had let my emotions take control again… I looked, though I hate to admit it, worriedly, at the limp body in front of me, and watched as he staggered up onto his feet, and stared at me square in the eye. Then, he laughed.

"You did a good job. I was almost considering processing the pain. However, that's not good enough. You're not good enough. And you never will be. Hope you can get that through your thick skull…" He trailed off as he vanished, leaving me standing there, contemplating what I've become.

 **I'm so sorry that I haven't uploaded! First, I had a lot of chaos at school for Jazz Band auditions, and after that, my document started to glitch out, so I had to rewrite it after waiting a few days for my computer to cool off! I'm SUPER sorry!**

 **FatedGateway**


	17. Unprecedented

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy's POV  
I limply fell to my knees as I recalled what happened.

 _If I can't kill you, then I'll make you suffer…_

Who was that? It wasn't me. I've always shuddered at the thought of death, but even I knew that torture was worse. And yet, here I was. I held my head in my hands. Maybe, Zeref _was_ right. I wasn't used to evil. Was this what evil did to you? Make you lose control of yourself? I snapped back to reality, though, when I heard Lector and Fro bust in, yelling.

"Where's Rogue?!" Fro shouted, and Lector followed suit, only with his partner's name. Panicking, I scanned the guild hall, and found the gang in a corner, some sprawled over tables while others hung limply on the floor. Ignoring the shouts of the exceeds, I ran over in a hurry, zoning everything out. _They had to be okay, there was no way that they'd lose to him…_ I thought this as I tripped and stumbled over to my friends, glancing worriedly at all of the members. Stopping in front of my closest friends, I then gingerly crouched down, only to be face to face with Natsu. AS worried as I was, I couldn't look at him. He didn't really trust me completely, that's all I knew. Looking over to Gray, I giggled as he mumbled something in his sleep. So they were okay, after all. Happy started to fly in his sleep, and bumped into a wall, and I had to bite my tongue to suppress my laughter. Lector and Fro did the same thing, rolling around on the floor in amusement.

"Hey, Lucy, they're ok, right?" Fro asked, his voice wavering.

"Yeah, they're just fine, don't worry!" I whisper yelled. "And," I added on, winking at Lector, "Nothing can beat the Great Sting Eucliffe and Rogue Cheney!" I joked, and Lector fist pumped the air in agreement.

"Well, that's only obvious. We just wanted to check on them because they haven't come back to the guild, and then we heard that there were a lot of noise reports from the townspeople. Of course that's normal for Fairy Tail, but we felt something was wrong. Anyway, we should go back now. I don't want to leave, but Minerva's scary when she's mad!" Lector half whined and explained. Chuckling, I patted their heads, making the prideful Lector blush, but the welcoming Fro smile. I smiled back, thinking that it was hilarious how these two were so different, just like their slayers. Seeing them out with a few remaining giggles, I went back to the group to watch over them for a while.

I looked at Rogue, and grinned when I saw him clenching the locket he wore on his chest.

FLASHBACK  
 _Ne, Rogue, what's in that locket you always wear?  
This? Oh, it's something that Yukino gave me. I have her picture in here, since she's like my girl best friend. I was heartbroken when she temporarily was kicked out of the guild… and that made me realize two things. First, it made me realize how power wasn't everything, as it was in the old Sabertooth. And two, it showed me how important… she is to me._

FLASHBACK

So he _did_ have a thing for her, after all. Sighing, I knew how almost everyone knew that, well maybe except for the two involved themselves. Rogue was like an older brother to me. He was protective and seemingly emotionless, but he was actually warm and kind hearted. It was the truth to say that I trusted him with my life. Then, I turned to Sting's sleeping profile.

He… how do I describe him? Well, he's cocky, war crazy, a playboy, and sometimes a jerk. He's all of that, yet he's also kind, thoughtful, considerate, and gentle. Unlike all of the others, the only people he had were his friends. He didn't have anyone else. That's why I pledged to myself, the day that we officially became friends, that I would always stick by him. Lightly tapping his forehead, I tried to mimic his signature smirk. But that only reminded me of that time that he smiled… I blushed like crazy, realizing that I was officially daydreaming about him. Standing up abruptly, I shook my head. I walked back to Natsu in the end, though. He may not trust me, but I guess I can still trust him. I mean, everyone had their secrets, right? I was doing it again. Doubting him, trying to leave him, then ending coming back to him and trying to get some sort of reason to forgive him. Well, we were best friends, after all. He was my partner, and I was his. There was nothing that could change the fact that we were best friends forever. Smiling and turning around, I went to clean up after the mess that I made during the fight.

Natsu's POV

I woke up groggily, rubbing my eyes. Blinking them to get used to the sudden light of the room, I looked around. I was laying down on an infirmary bed, and when I got up, I saw the other members in the same position. Gingerly stepping forward, I clutched my head in pain as a massive headache suddenly overcame me. _Damn… what happened?_ I asked myself as I walked out of the infirmary and into the hall. When I spotted Lucy, I tried to run over, but then ended up getting another headache and falling down.

"Natsu! Don't run, you're not completely ok!" Lucy yelled at me as she hurried to my side. Pulling me up, I gripped onto her, steadying myself. Grabbing her by the shoulders, I hesitantly stood up again.

"Thanks, I owe you big time…!" I trailed off as I finally processed what was going on. Lucy was here. After two weeks. She was back. My eyes widened, for a second, and I then tackled her with a bear hug, sending us both back down to the ground.

"Where were you?! Are you alright?! Why did you take so long?!" I spewed out questions one after another, not giving her a chance to even answer. I only stopped when she slapped her hand over my mouth, and I blushed. She merely sighed.

"Well, _im sorry,_ but traveling all the way to Tenrou, defeating King of the Fire Dragons, then traveling to another island and bumping into Zeref, and then traveling to _another_ island again, and defeating King of Dragons Acnologia, then bumping into Zeref _again_ , can't be done overnight" She explained, rolling her eyes. I stared at her, wide eyed at the information. Then, I whooped in excitement.

"You've done it! WE GOT DRAGONS!" I yelled, but Luce only slapped her hand over my mouth again.

"What do you want to do, wake up all of Fiore?!" She whisper scolded me, and I cringed as I read the watch on her wrist. It was only 7 am.

"Hehe, sorry about that…" I whispered back, shrinking under her glare. As she returned to her usual cheery atmosphere, I watched her in amusement.

"Wow, talk about mood swings. You on your perio-" I was cut off by another death glare, and quickly retreated back into the infirmary, hiding under my covers. I let out the breath I was holding when I heard her footsteps get lighter, and knew that she walked away. Chuckling softly to myself, I readjusted my position in the bed, getting comfortable. _You're so weird, Luce._

Rogue's POV  
I had a very… embarrassing dream yesterday. Based on he contents of it, I have to suspect that my mate is Yukino. Thinking this as I got up, I recognized myself to be in Fairy Tail's infirmary. It would make sense, after all, I've been getting this strange feeling around her lately. Checking the calendar on the bedside table, I groaned in annoyance. Of course, it just had to be mating season. Let me tell you, I _hated_ mating season. It was as horrible a feeling as being alone and eating cold pizza on Valentines Day. March, of course. I loved the month, hated the season. Did that make any sense? Probably not. Well, I guess it would make sense for her to be my mate… My thoughts trailed off as I walked out of the infirmary, spotting Lucy at the bar.

"Oh, good morning. How come you're still here?" I asked her, sitting on a stool across from her.

"Oh, I was worried about everyone, so I spent the night here, taking care of things" She explained, handing me a cup of coffee.

"I would expect that you like it dark, right?" She joked, and I cracked a smiled as I added only a teaspoon of cream into the brewing liquid.

"Thanks. Coffee's a lifesaver, isn't it?" I reasoned, taking a sip and enjoying the warmth spreading throughout my body. Lucy nodded in agreement as she took her own steaming mug. Immediately waking up from my dazed state, I noticed Lucy giggling to herself.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking around as to what she found so funny.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that, judging from the dragon vibe you're giving off, and this is coming from slayer to slayer, I'm guessing that you're mate is Yukino?" She teased, poking my ribs. I blushed and looked away, but then I realized what she just said.

"Slayer?"

Lucy's POV  
Shoot. I forgot that I erased his memories. Before I could come up with some lame excuse, Rogue started again.

"Now that you mention it, I do faintly recall seeing you use some dragon slayer magic before I passed out… Is it true?!" He asked excitedly. I nodded, sprawling out against the bar.

"Yeah, have Ski answer your questions later" I told him, using my new moniker for the dragon's intricate name. He nodded, probably sensing that I wasn't in the mood to answer a million questions per hour. Taking another sip of my coffee, I headed back into the kitchen, taking a bowl and ladle along the way. Going to the pot that I was heating up, I served some red bean porridge that I made to Rogue. I knew the answer, but I asked him anyway what he preferred.

"Do you prefer it sweet?"

"Bitter, please" Listening to his request, I handed his bowl to him as it was.

"Thanks, Lucy" I looked at him with a smile. It was small moments like these, these moments that I spent with my friends, that I loved most. Shaking my head indicating that it was no big deal, I heard someone else get up, and wih my heightened senses, heard Wendy yawning. Well, she was an early riser. As she walked into view, she greeted us cheerily. Then, she spotted Rogue's bowl.

"Red bean porridge!" She exclaimed, though softly, considerate of the fact that others were sleeping.

"Yup, do you want some? I bet you want it sweet, right?" I guessed, taking in the fact that Wendy, though powerful, was still only a child.

"Yes, please!" she said as she hopped onto a stool next to Rogue. Serving another bowl, I took a tablespoon of honey and drizzled it over the steaming porridge, then folded it in to add subtle sweetness. Wendy watched in awe at my skilled mannerisms, and squealed in delight as the bowl was placed before her.

"I humbly accept this food!" She said excitedly, and began to dig in. Smiling, she turned to the male beside her.

"Ne, Rogue- san, it's very delicious, right?" Wendy questioned, her eyes sparkling. Rogue smiled once again at the young mage, and nodded.

"It is, thanks again, Lucy" He replied, and I blushed in protest. Taking my turn at modesty, I denied it, and went back into the kitchen to get something to snack on for the side. Spotting some rice flour, I smiled as I began to prepare some rice cake.

Sting's POV

I walked sleepily to the bar, sitting down beside everyone else. It seemed that the whole guild was awake, and was eating some sort of porridge.

"Good morning, Sting" Erza said, acknowledging my presence. I nodded in response, and stretched out my neck, tired. Then, I spotted Lucy wide awake, serving everyone the porridge while chatting with Mira who was, for once, relaxing and sitting down at the bar, having a bowl of porridge for herself. Spotting me, Lucy walked over, holding a tray of some freshly cooked, sticky rice cakes.

"Morning! Here, you can eat some of this while I go get you a bowl. You like it sweet, right?" She asked, apparently referring to the porridge. I nodded, and took some rice cake, popping it into my mouth. It was delicious. I saw Erza sneakily steal a few from me, and Natsu and Gray were trying to corner me not-so-subtly. I laughed at their antics, and Lucy came out with a bowl. She also had many other bottles.

"Hm… honey would make it too sweet for you, so… lets see… sugar would be alright, but that doesn't seem to suit you. Maybe… oh, I know! What about agave nectar!" She exclaimed with enthusiasm, and took the cork off of a bottle with a satisfying _pop!_ She poured some over my bowl, and folded it into the hot mixture. Handing it to me, I accepted it with thanks and slight curiosity. I didn't know much, but I sure as hell knew that agave nectar is _not_ normal, at least not in my book. I've never even heard of it. Gingerly dipping my spoon into the porridge, I took a bite, and I savored the perfect sweetness. It was neither too sweet nor too bitter, and I took another, this time eager, bite.

"Thanks, Lucy" I smiled at her, earning a blush. Switching to my usual smirk to hide the faint blush tinting my own cheeks, I turned away and continued to shove food into my mouth. I stole glances at her, though, as she served others, using different bottles for different people. I just straight up snorted, though, when I saw her sigh, and then dump about a pound of sugar, followed by twice the amount of hot sauce, into Natsu's, what, 32nd bowl? Everyone else chuckled at the seemingly horrifying combination of sugar and hot sauce, and I let my smile remain this time, loving this warm feeling bubbling up inside of me. Finishing up my bowl along with Rogue, I got seconds, still laughing with everyone in Fairy Tail.

Lucy's POV

I started to clean up, collecting everyone's dishes. Mira had insisted on helping, but I strictly refused her offer, knowing how hard she worked herself everyday. Besides, I liked it like this. This way, everything felt normal. It was as if I was just Lucy, and everyone else was just Fairy Tail, my home. Even Sting and Rogue felt like family to me. This way, it felt as if everything in the world was right, as if there was no Kukyo, no Zeref, no anything to hurt us. Right here, right now, I wished for the second time that time would just stop here, that I could just live forever, and relish the moments that I had with my friends, not aware of the time slipping past my fingers. I wish that I could live forever so that I could always be with my friends, never being afraid of losing them. _Be careful what you wish for._ A strange voice echoed throughout my head. I shook it off, though, and continued to clean the dishes, feeling ice blue eyes pierce my back. Not even having to look at him, I retorted, "If all you're gonna do is stare, then you could at least help out" I heard a chuckle in reply, and grinned to myself as I heard the nearing footsteps.

"Yeah, whatever" Sting said grumpily as he began to take a clean dish and dry it off.

"Hey! Don't take the easy job!" I whined, while Sting stuck out his tongue in response. I pouted, but giggled a bit. _Nothing lasts forever._ There was that voice again. I ignored it, though, continuing to bicker with Sting, enjoying myself.

Sting's POV  
As we finished up the dishes, I stared at her for a second, then felt a throbbing in my chest. Shoot, mating season… I hurriedly checked the calendar, only to prove my suspicions correct. Lucy, was she…? I snapped back to reality as I saw her talk to Natsu. Of course, she was his. I face palmed myself, scared of the fact that she might be my mate, but would choose Natsu over me. I could only have one mate, so if she… I shivered at the thought of being alone for the rest of my life, and I stood there, frozen, staring into space. Lucy walked over and snapped in front of my face, though, making me come to terms with myself.

"Snap out of it! You're so silly sometimes, you know?" She pointed out, and I laughed nervously.

"How dare you call me silly, Blondie..." I shot back, hoping to cover up my dark thoughts.

Lucy's POV  
I looked at him. He seemed worried about something…No, worried wasn't the word for it. More like, _scared._ I knew the feeling of being scared, I've been feeling it since I was born. When I was a kid, fear of losing mother, fear of being used,fear of being controlled. When I ran away, I had the fear of being found, fear of making the wrong choices, fear of that pain I felt when I was little. When I joined Fairy Tail, I had the fear of losing my friends, fear of hurting my friends, fear of being hurt. When I left for three months, I had the fear of losing Natsu, fear of emptiness, fear of heartbreak. And now, I had a fear that I couldn't identify, something else lingering at the back of my mind. Sympathizing with the fellow slayer, I hugged him, surprising both him and myself. Immediately, though, my body started to react.

My chest started to throb, and I felt his heartbeat start to beat in time with mine. Symptoms… We pulled away from each other, faces beet red in understanding. I asked him for the date.  
"M-march… That means it's…" He trailed off, and I went to finish his sentence.

"Mating season… so does that mean that just now was…?" My question was interrupted with a squeal, and our heads turned to look at a crazed Mira.

"OMG! Blonde blue eyed babies! Blonde brown eyed babies! Or dirty blonde green-eyed babies! Brown- brown eyed babies!" Mira squealed the same way she did… when Sting first busted into the guild that day. I could sense that Sting was thinking about the same thing, cause he turned to look at me, a small smile gracing his lips once again. Man, did I love that smile. But still, it seemed like such a long time ago where he swept me up into his arms and declared that I was his idol.

"Hey, it's been a long time, right?" Sting pointed out, voicing my thoughts aloud. I nodded, but then I was swept into his arms, just like the way he did in my memories: bridal style.

"THIS is what you meant by it's been a long time?" I questioned, my face red. Ignoring the continuous squeals from Mira, and the stares from a few in the guild, Sting replied cheerfully, yet maliciously, with a "Yup", popping the p. He ran out the doors, leaving everyone dazed.

Rogue's POV

I watched the sight with amusement, recalling old memories about the time where I spotted Sting run into the guild with Lucy in his arms. Sipping some tea, I chuckled as he ran out. And there was a time where I thought she was my mate, as well. Oh, but those do make a cute couple. Still chuckling to myself, I watched his retreating figure with fondness. _You have someone, now…_

Natsu's POV

Even though I had to admit that I was a tad bit jealous, I couldn't help but smile at the sight. I mean, Lucy looked so _happy_ when she was with him. And that was the one thing that I couldn't dare take away from her, even if it _displeased_ me, since I refuse to admit that I was jealous for the second time. I had a strong sense that she was his mate, but what freaked me out was that she _wasn't_ mine. I looked around the guild hall. It had to be someone from Fairy Tail, right? Then, my eyes settled on a distressed Lisanna. Oh… maybe she was it, after all… Had I left her too soon? Wait… what am I even talking about? Confusing myself, the only piece of information that I was able to derive from my little internal conversation was the fact that my relationship with Lisanna wasn't quite over, yet. This was… unprecedented.


	18. Zeref, too?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy's POV

We stopped in a clearing in the forest, and were sitting next to each other on the grass, leaning our heads against trees while looking overhead as the leaves swayed and the clouds rolled past in the sky. Watching the sky had become sort of habit for me, now. Except this time, unlike the other times I looked up, the sky seemed vibrant, the clouds bouncing and the sun's rays dancing.

"The light is beautiful..." I told Sting, knowing that it secretly held a double meaning.

He nodded. "That's something that I can't deny" He agreed, and we sat there for a moment, silent. Then, I piped up.

"I'm assuming that Rogue told you about the dragons…?" I trailed off, hoping I made the right decision in asking.

"Yeah, I knew that you were going to tell me eventually, and I was looking forward to it, but right now, with all the chaos, I don't really think that…" He trailed off, looking at his hands. Tugging one of my keys out, I held it out to him so he could study it.

"Weisslogia's key is one of my favorites. It's beautifully detailed, and portrays the meaning of light perfectly, don't you think?" I pointed out, watching as he examined the key's intricate designs that immediately drew anyone in. The light was beautiful and intricate, just like the key design. Skiadrum's key was intricate, yet mysterious, as the darkness was. Igneel's key was simple and straightforward, like how fire just seemed to burn everything. Metallicana's key was super cool, like a punk- metal rock, I would assume. Grandine's key was bright and cheerful, like the sky. I mentally went over all of the dragon's key designs, and stopped when I noticed that Sting was staring at me.

"Wow, you sure do love your spirits…" He said, and I blushed in embarrassment. _Did I just say that aloud?_

"Yup, and you just said _that_ aloud, as well" Sting said grinning. I blushed even more, and buried my face into my knees, changing my sitting position.  
"Whatever…" My voice was muffled by the coverage, and Sting scooted closer.

"Wait, what did you just say?" He asked, and I repeated my half- hearted 'whatever'. He still didn't seem to get it, though. He stopped in front of me, and pulled my face out, so that I was staring at him.

"I can't hear a word you just said, and sister, I'm a _dragon slayer_ " He explained, a little annoyed as he huffed and plopped down next to me again. I rolled my eyes .

"Whatever" I said, repeating what I said for the millionth time.

"Hey! Don't whatever me!" He exclaimed, shooting up. I laughed.

"I said, whatever" I repeated, hoping that he was getting the point.

"Yeah, and I just said, 'don't whatever me!', remember?" He retorted, sitting back down. Realizing what our conversation was starting to sound like, I decided to clear up the misunderstanding.

"No, I meant that I legit said the word 'whatever' when you couldn't hear me!" I explained, and got and 'Ooh! I get it now!" from the fellow slayer. We both chuckled and sat in silence once again. Then, it was Sting who started the conversation this time.

"Here, your key" He said, handing me the dragon's key. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You don't want to see him?"

"No, I want to see him when I'm worthy. As I am now, I can't do anything. I'll meet him, but only once I've proven myself to be able to protect the others who've helped me" My eyes widened, and I held respect for the guild master.  
"Sometimes, I forget that you're still a guild master. Wow, that was deep, dude" I joked, and it was Sting's turn to blush this time. Hooking my key back onto my key chain, I sighed at the sight. My keys were so crowded together, it was probably uncomfortable for them. I mean, sure, the spirits themselves don't feel anythg, but I still wanted to take care of my keys. Sting saw my wrinkled brows, and poked me on the forehead.

"Smile, you're going to turn into a wrinkly grandma if you keep furrowing your brows like that" Sting pointed out, and we started to laugh again.

"Anyways, what's wrong?" He asked, once we settled down.

"I wanted to get a new key chain…" I trailed off, knowing that I probably made no sense to someone who wasn't a celestial mage. Sting laughed at me

"Sure, you want to keep your keys safe, right?" Sting asked, and I looked at him, interested.

"How did you know?" I asked, wondering.

"Well, I've known you for a while now, and that's enough to know how much you deeply care for your keys" He explained, blushing again at the end. I smiled at him with appreciation, and he looked away, taking my hand uncertainly, and started to walk with me towards the magic stores. I looked at our intertwined hands, and Sting noticed me.  
"Oh, sorry…" He said, beginning to take his hand away. I stopped his drifting hand, though, and gripped it tightly, humming to myself happily, ignoring Sting's shocked stare. I was a blushing mess on the inside, but I was still happy. There was the big chance he was my mate. I was a dragon slayer, after all. Still humming, I felt Sting's shoulders loosen up and heard him breathe a sigh of what seemed to be relief. We walked out of the forest together to get a new chain for me, never letting go of each other's hands.

Natsu's POV  
I walked over to the takeover mage, who seemed depressed about something. Worry evident in my eyes, I sat across from her, gaining her attention.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, curious.

"Dan Straight rejected me!" She cried comically and fell to the ground in a dramatic manner. When I tried to hold her up, she refused my hand and held to me a piece of paper.

"Eh?! Why are you giving me your will?!" I asked, freaking out as I watched Lisanna start to slowly fade away from the world. She popped back up, though, and answered my question. Her eyes turned to hearts.

"He rejected me, but in such a noble manner, saying that he had a princess to rescue! Oh my, how romantic!" Lisanna was squealing now, and I covered my ears with my hands. I looked in shock, though, as she started to cry again. Patting her back soothingly, I watched in partial horror, awe, and wonder as she continued the frequent mood swings, and the rest of the guild watched in what seemed to be amusement. When she popped back up again, and declared that she would find her own knight someday, everyone laughed, and I joined in. _Girls… Are weird._

Sting's POV

We walked into the store, and finally parted hands as Lucy went over to the celestial wizard department. Getting bored, I decided to look around myself in the dragon slayer department. There were limiters, wristbands, magic amplifiers, and all the sweet stuff, but there was nothing that interested me. With a bored stare, my eyes scanned the shelves, but then I saw something shine in the corner of my eye.

 _"Magic Manipulator, huh"_ I swiped the item off of the shelf, and quickly paid for it before Lucy came out. I heard her approaching, though, and panicking, I stuffed the pendant into my pocket, and looked around for a place to throw out the receipt. Finding none, I _ate_ the paper, cringing at the overly salty taste of the paper in my mouth. Who knew that trees were _salty?_ Shaking my head, I watched Lucy skip out from behind a shelf, holding 5 jewel embedded chains, along with some miniature figures that I couldn't see because her hand was blocking them, Shrugging, I offered to pay, but was refused, and watched her friendly interaction with the cashier, who was, to my disregard, _male._ As we walked out, he waved to Lucy, and Lucy waved back, but once she had her back turned, I sent a death glare that made the poor man faint. Smirking, I walked out with my companion, satisfied with my work.

Lucy's POV  
I was happy with my purchase. I had bought multiple chains, and tags for each of them, so that I could section off my keys. We stopped at a park, and say under a large tree on top of a small hill. Sting sat down, next to me so that we were shoulder to shoulder. I was a little embarrassed at the contact, but dropped my gaze down to my over crowded chain. Taking it off from my belt, I unhooked all of the keys from it carefully, and placed them on a handkerchief that I always brought around with me. Taking the old chain, I placed it one of my pockets, making a mental note to clean it later. Taking out my new chains and the tags, I began to group my keys. Taking a simple dragon charm, I hooked it onto an emerald adorned, green chain, and put all of my regular dragon keys onto it. Placing the small chain onto my belt, I proceeded to the other chains. Taking a sapphire blue chain, I hooked an intricately designed dragon this time, and put on all of my Reborn Soul gate keys on carefully. Setting them aside, I hung all of my Tortured Soul gates onto a blood red chain, with a Roaring Dragon charm. Sighing in content with my dragon gates, I took a gold chain and hung on all of my zodiacs. Taking the last, silver chain, I hooked up all of my silver keys, and I was happy with my organization. Multiple, small and organized chains were way better and easier to handle than one large, overcrowded chain where I could barely pick out one key without having all of the others fall off with it. I smiled, happy with myself, and carefully reinforced the chains onto my belt, standing up and jumping a bit to make sure that they didn't fall off. Looking to Sting expectantly, I was surprised to see him asleep. Watching him for a bit, I grinned. He was considerate enough to go shopping with me, then stay with me while I did something as boring as organizing keys, something he barely knew anything about. Ruffling his hair a little, I was in a happy mood. March was a wonderful month, wasn't it? Twirling under the tree, I felt like dancing. So that's what I did. I did little twirls and jumps around the base of the tree, waiting for Sting to wake up. I didn't gain any attention, so I happily continued my dance. When I saw him stir, I had a brilliant idea pop into my head. Crouching right in front of him, I put my face really close to his, and waited for him to open his eyes.

Fluttering open, I saw his bright blue orbs bore into my brown ones, and when I saw his look of confusion, I dropped the bomb.

"Boo" I whispered, and he jumped up, freaked out. I rolled on the grass, laughing as I watched him jump up and hit his head on a branch, then fall down on his butt.

"Seriously?!" He exclaimed in protest at my laughing, but he cracked a grin of his own as well. March was a wonderful month, wasn't it?

Master's POV  
I watched my children converse, all happy and healthy. Smiling to myself, I breathed a sigh of relief. Who knows what would've happened if Lucy didn't come to save us? I really need to be more careful. But for know, I have a feeling that Kukyo will be the least of our worries. I don't know why, but I feel as if we won't be seeing him for a while, for I felt something else creeping up on our tails.

Mavis' POV  
When Kukyo came in, I couldn't do anything; I was too scared to move. I'm glad that Lucy was here, she was always a strong wizard. However I faintly detected Zeref's aura around her. Could it be…? I had been searching for him, but he had always run away from me. I wasn't mad anymore, he was cursed, and he couldn't help that. Evil did weird things to you, saying that from personal experience. More than Zeref, though, I'm worried about what Lucy is planning. She's planning to interfere with whatever Kukyo is coming up with, and Time Ark interference never turns out good. The last person who did that was one of my friends, Damon, and he… he aged so quickly to the point of dying in mere days after he had deflected a time ark spell. I shuddered at the thought of my friend. I didn't want that to happen to Lucy, but, for once, I didn't have a battle plan. I had some time, though. Kukyo was busy right now, so we don't have to worry about him. However, with all of the bad things happening to us, I can't help but wonder what other forms of torture fate has in store for us…

Sting's POV  
We had walked out of the park, and was now going back to the guild. I received a call, though, so we had stopped in a café, where We had ordered a quick drink, and I retreated to a corner to take my call. Sipping my latte, I answered my phone.

"Hello?  
"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU, STING?!" a voice screamed into my ear, and I moved the phone away. Cringing, I laughed nervously.

"Hehe, well, you see, Minerva…" I began to explain, but the demon cut me off.

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP! WHY THE HELL AREN'T YOU AT THE GUILD?! DO YOU KNOW _HOW MUCH_ PAPERWORK THERE IS TO DO?! AND I SURE AS HELL AINT GONNA BABY YOU THIS TIME AROUND, SO YOU AND ROGUE BETTER GET YOUR ASSES HERE PRONTO, COMPRENDE?" Minerva shouted, and I cringed once again, both at her loud voice and crude language. With a quiet whimper, she hung up and I slumped against a wall. Lucy then came up to me.

"Minerva?" She asked, and I numbly nodded, knowing that she probably heard Minerva's loud voice. Wait… wasn't she across the room though?

"Well, I need to go pick up Rogue and take my leave. Sorry about that…" I sheepishly rubbed the back of my neck, and Lucy waved it off with her usual smile.

"Nah, it's no problem. I heard her, anyways, since, you know… hehe, never mind" Lucy cut herself off, and started to walk nervously past me, but I caught her arm.

"Continue" I ordered, and she sighed.  
"We'll talk while we walk, okay?" She offered, and I nodded. Following her out of the café after paying the bill for us, I didn't take her hand this time, since it took all of my willpower and energy not to blush and stutter when I took her hand before. Instead, I stuffed my hands into my pockets, and let my eyes wander around the streets, trying to make it seem like walking here with Lucy _didn't_ just make this the best day of my life.

"So?" I questioned her, breaking the silence between us.

"I'm not going to sugar coat my words, so I guess that I'll just tell you straight. I'm a dragon slayer. And I repeat do _not_ bombard me with questions. You can ask Rogue to explain things to you later" She said that last part sternly, and I was shell-shocked.

"Oh…" I mumbled, seeing how that made a lot of sense, and how that answered a lot of questions. An awkward silence was made, each of us trying to look anywhere except each other. Dragon slayer… that's how she knew it was mating season. That makes sense… Thinking about it, I blushed, and she did too, probably picking up on what I was thinking. If that was the case, the probability of her being my mate had just increased by tenfold. SO… wow. We locked eyes for a moment, and then looked away from each other again, hurriedly. When we came to the guild, I kicked down the door, hiding my nervousness with my smirk. _Always works… just put on your mask…_

"Yo, Rogue! We have to go back to the guild before Minerva kicks our asses!" I yelled out, and Rogue appeared from my shadow. He nodded, and, waving to everyone, we walked away. I stole one last glance behind me, and saw Lucy smiling at us. Darting my eyes forwards again, I put on my mask, hiding my true emotions from everyone.

Lucy's POV  
That was… awkward, to be put in the least. I shook my head, and tore my gaze away from Sting's retreating figure. Looking around and immediately spotting a tuff of salmon, I saw Natsu talking happily with Lisanna, and thought against calling out for him. He could meet Igneel later. Walking to my usual spot, I ordered my usual drink, as usual. Everything seemed normal, as if I _hadn't_ just made the most embarrassing discovery of my life. My first mating season was going to be a hectic one. Mira walked over, and handed me my drink with a smile.

"Thanks, Mira. I don't know how you're able to do this everyday" I commented, watching her as she prepared multiple dishes in one go. She just laughed in modesty, and my admiration for her grew. Mira had been my role model even before I had joined the guild. Smiling, I didn't notice when the guild doors flew open.

"LUCY!" A familiar voice yelled, and everyone stopped what they were doing to turn around and look at the figure standing in the doorway. I turned around, as well, and my eyes widened as I saw who was standing there. Childhood best friend, most popular kid in school, powerful mage, my hero… Jay Turront. Gaping, I looked at him as his eyes frantically searched around the guild, and then his gaze locked onto mine. Smiling, he plowed into me, sending me to the ground with a bone crushing hug.

Still shocked, I whispered out, my voice hoarse.

"Jay…?  
"Lucy!"

"Jay…?"

"Lucy!"

"Jay…?!'

"Lucy!"

"JAY?!"

"LUCE!" At this point we were just screaming at each other, and everyone watched in wonder. Jay got off of me, and helped me up. Snapping back to reality, I immediately hugged him back.

"Omigosh! Where have you been all my life?!" I exclaimed at my friend.

"I can say the same to you!" Jay said, laughing. But then, his expression turned serious.  
"As heartwarming as this is, I have something important to say to you…" He held me by the shoulders, and looked at me straight in the eye. Then, Mira converted to her Satan Soul, and screeched out.

"NO! YOU CANNOT RUIN STINGLU! YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME!" Mira yelled, and charged at us. Jay just blinked a few times before dodging and speaking up.

"StingLu? Is that a ship name…? LUCY, YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!" Jay exclaimed, but then patted me on the back, flashing a thumbs up at me. I sweat dropped as this caused more commotion, and the guild was now in utter chaos. Yelling out, I stopped everyone in their tracks.

"NO, I DO NOT!" I yelled, and things calmed down. Jay laughed at my guild's hectic routine, and looked at me again.

"Well, whatever's going on, I have to warn you. Luce, you're in danger. I came here so I could protect you…" Jay said, then leaned in to whisper something in my ear.

"Remember that guild we once beat up when we ran away? Wizard hunters. They're back… they're after us. We need to be careful…" Jay whispered, but I laughed.

"Bro, that's nothing. I have freaking Acnologia and dragons stronger than that!" I exclaimed, and Jay chuckled, apparently not nervous anymore.

"Really? Just what I'd expect from you, but… Their master is Zeref…" Jay whispered again, and my eyes widened. Let's see… how does one defeat someone immortal? No clue. Or… My eyes held a devious gleam. I leaned forward on my tippy toes, and whispered back.

"Divide and conquer. Trap the king in checkmate" I recalled the boring games of chess that my father made me learn, saying that I would have to play games with 'grace and sophistication'. I also remember that one time Jay was dragged into it, too. Jay groaned, and I laughed.

"You can stay over at my place" I offered, and he accepted. Walking out of the stunned guild hall, I began to interrogate him.

"How did you know where I was? And why did you decide to come? Weren't you in another kingdom altogether?" I asked, curious.

"One at a time! I saw you in a Sorcerer's Weekly article, I came to protect you because I bumped into Wizard Hunters and they threatened me before I got away, and then, yes, I was in another kingdom. But then I decided to come here because of answer number two" Jay answered my questions diligently, all in one breath. I laughed, since it was so like Jay to do that. He raised a brow questioningly.

"So, how's life?" I asked, wanting to catch up with my childhood bestie.

"Well, I got married, and I'm in a wizard guild called Serpent Legends. Other than that, there's nothing else major. I live a normal life" I listened with interest.

"Really?! Who's the lucky girl?" I teased, and Jay blushed.

"Remember Nina…?" He asked uncertainly, bringing up my other childhood BFF. My mouth dropped to the floor, and I squealed in excitement.

"I'm TOTALLY being a godmother, you understand me?" I ordered, and he blushed deeper at what I was implying. Regaining his composure, it was is turn to interrogate.

"What about you?" he asked, and my smile faltered. He seemed to notice this, but didn't say anything. Putting up my façade again, I began my own story.

"I'm in Fairy Tail, as you know, and my crush sort of had a girlfriend… he was my best friend here. But then they broke up, but I'm already over him. He's my BFF! Right now, I'm part dragon slayer, and I think I might've found my mate…" I said, a bit uncertain at how Jay would react.

"OMG! Are you serious?!" He exclaimed, excitement in his eyes. I nodded, and he fist pumped the air.

"Really?! Did you learn any other magic?" He asked excitedly. So like him to ask about that. I nodded, excited myself, too.

"I have teleportation, elemental card, dragon slaying, and, as you already know, celestial magic and the caster side of it" I explained, silently gloating. He looked at me in awe.

"COOL!" That reminded me of that reporter Jason… I giggled, and he continued to look at me. We got to my apartment building, in which I have been able to keep up with my rent, which is always surprising. Letting him into my room, he looked around, and nodded in approval. Shaking my head, I let him use the bath, while I took out the spare clothes that I had bought for when Gray and Natsu come over. Throwing them to him, I flopped onto the bed. Today was weird… but nice. As heard the water turn on, though, I frowned. First, there was Kukyo, and now there's Zeref after me?! Well, Kukyo doesn't seem like he'll make a move anytime soon, so I don't really have to worry about that. For now, I need to think about Zeref, and what he wants with my guild, Jay, and I. He was immortal, for Pete's sake…

 _Immortality, huh?_

 **You guys can probably guess the ending of this. I know, sad, but I thought that it would be the best way to end this story. I'm not sure how many chapters are left, but I do know that this story is going to end soon. Who knows, though, maybe I'll make up to 30 chapters? Wow, that'll be a big feat. Anyway, I just watched episode 99 of Fairy Tail Zero, and I cried my eyes out! Because of that, I wasn't really in the mood to write some action scenes today, so I decided that I would just drop a simple surprise bomb at the end! Hehe, hope you like the story so far, please comment and review!**


	19. How He Saw Her World

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy's POV  
I awoke, and looked around, rubbing my eyes sleepily. I was in a futon that I had laid out on the ground, and remembered that Jay was staying with me. Checking the clock, I realized that I had gotten up thirty minutes early. _Oh well, I can't go back to sleep at this rate…_ Thinking this, I got up and remade the futon, placing it neatly to the side so that it wasn't in anyone's way. Then I walked up to the bed and examined Jay's peaceful features. I grinned to myself, remembering all the fun times we shared together. I was still shocked that he was here, right now, but I was extremely happy. It only made me happier to hear that he had married my other friend from my childhood, Nina. Even back then, everyone knew that they were the perfect couple. Getting a happy start to my day, I started my usual routine which consisted of a bath, face mask, then brushing my teeth, and finally washing my face once more and applying my makeup. Once I was done with everything, I set out a towel and some more clothes for Jay when he woke up, and put on my sound pods, draining out his soft snores as the music blasted me awake.

After about an hour, I heard Jay start to stir. Going to him, I lightly tapped his forehead, chuckling.

"Get up, lazybones..." I teased, and he groggily got up, took his clothes and towel, and tiredly made his way into the bathroom. Once he was gone, I started making some pancakes and sausages. Strawberry for me, and blueberry for Jay… It had always been like that since we were kids. My smile vanished, though, when I thought back to the real reason that he was here. Zeref was out loose, and everyone knew just what he was capable of. Turning off the gas, I plated the food, and made Jay a cup of coffee while I made a strawberry smoothie for myself as I waited for him to get out of the bathroom.

Jay's POV  
I walked out, missing my shirt since I didn't want my hair to get it wet. I had a feeling that Lucy would become embarrassed and flushed, and boy, did I want to see that. With this in mind, I nonchalantly slung my towel over my neck while I walked out, shirtless and wet. I put on a bored face, waiting for a squeal, but none came. Smirking, I looked over to her.

"What? Are you speech-" I stared at her as she just walked passed me, unfazed. Looking up at me, she smiled.

"Breakfast is on the table. I made your favorite pancakes. Just give me a second, I forgot to put on my wristband…" She trailed off as he looked for the said item. Sighing, I sat down at the table, still shirtless. _What? Am I not in shape? I'll admit, I have some pretty good muscles…_ I whined to myself, giving thanks for the food as I thought about her unconcerned reaction. Lucy sat back across from me, and continued to miss the fact that I was shirtless.

"Wow! This is good!" I complimented her as I took another bite of my pancake. She smiled, and continued to eat her own food neatly. I, on the other hand, shoved the food down my throat. Usually, she would yell at me, but she didn't say anything. I stared at her suspiciously. I had the strange urge to gain her attention, and then punched the wall, creating a small crater. I looked at her expectantly, but I still didn't get a reaction. Scratching the back of my neck, I finished eating, and watched as Lucy finished her smoothie. We were both royal runaways, and that's how we became friends. However, unlike me, even when angry, Lucy still managed to possess that same grace about her. I stared at her with interest, and watched as she took the plates and started to wash them. She worked diligently, and finished in a matter of minutes. When she caught me staring, though, she just cocked her head.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked, her wide eyes glinting with both concern and curiosity.

"Yeah, it's you!" I exclaimed, pushing myself off of the table. She seemed uninterested. Before, I could easily scare or anger her, but now, she was just like a happy go lucky character type.

"I walk around half naked, you don't get embarrassed. I eat messily and like a fool, you don't scold me. I punch your walls, but you don't get mad. What is _up_ with you?" I questioned, voicing up my thoughts. To this, she just laughed. Then she checked her watch.

"You'll see in three… two… one!" She said happily, and a pink haired man jumped in through her window, a raven haired man dropped in from her fireplace, and a red haired woman kicked down the door cleanly. I gaped at the sight as Lucy seemed to be handling them with ease. The pink haired dude raided the fridge and ate wildly, food flying everywhere wildly. Lucy just gave him more food, and proceeded to the next person. The raven haired man had stripped down to his boxers, and Lucy had merely given him his lost clothes. The two men began fighting, but then the red haired woman stepped in, stopping both of them but almost destroying the apartment in the process. I stared in awe as Lucy just laughed.

"This is what I deal with every day…" She trailed off.

"Don't they get annoying?" I asked, and she quickly responded.

"They used to, but now I've gotten to handle them more easily. They're my family, and I can't live without them!" She exclaimed happily.

"Open, Gate of the Maid, Virgo!" She chanted, and another woman appeared, and, in a second, the apartment had reverted back to its original form.

"Punishment, hime?" The woman asked, and I watched, confused.

"Nope, but thanks for helping as usual, Virgo. You can go back now!" Lucy waved, and the woman disappeared. I have never really seen her celestial magic, but I guess that this was what she was talking about. She introduced me to the others, and me to the others, and pretty soon, I had become acquainted with all of them. We followed Lucy as she headed out of the apartment, Gray and Natsu fighting every other second while Erza intervened every time. So this was Lucy's daily life, huh? Interesting. I watched the blonde as she balanced on he side of the river, shouting out greeting to two boatmen. I smiled at this. Well, there was one thing that didn't change. Lucy was always friendly to everyone, and nobody could ever hate her, even those who were jealous of her wealth, brains, and beauty. That was how Nina and Lucy became best friends, after all. Before, Nina hated her with everything she had, but after she had done something horrible by accident, Lucy was there to console her, even though she was the victim. After that, the two were like sisters. Well, that was at least until Lucy had been kidnapped. We all ran away from our noble families, and took care of ourselves. However, Lucy was tracked, and then kidnapped, brought back to her old home. After that, she had it rough. I cringed at the memory, but my thoughts were interrupted as Lucy stopped in front of the guild. The other three kicked down the doors, and Lucy quickly created a barrier, protecting us from a flying table. _Wow… This really_ is _interesting._

I was about to go in, but stopped myself when Lucy didn't go in herself.

"Aren't you going in?"

"Actually, I decided to make some contracts today…" She trailed off.

"Sorry, you can head in if you want…" She trailed off again uncertainly, and I ruffled her hair, laughing fondly.

"Nah, you're the reason I came here after all!" I assured her, and followed her to wherever she was going. Watching her back, I noted how she still stood up straight, but this time, unlike the gentle, shy Lucy that I used to know, she held her head up high, confidently. We stopped at a clearing in a park, and I sat down on the grass. Lucy reached for her keys, but stopped when her communication lacrima rung. Despite myself, I pretended to be reading a book I brought with me, but I was actually sneaking glances at the projection and eavesdropping on the conversation. An image of a blonde male appeared, and he seemed to be in a guild hall himself.

"Hey Luc-" His greeting was cut off by another man pushing him off of the image feed.

"Hey, Orga, Rufus, how are you guys doing over there?" I heard her say, smiling.

"We are fine, but Sting decided to call you, because he's been going on for the past 5 hours how your eyes sparkle and whatnot" Another blonde said nonchalantly, but I saw a small smirk plastered on his face. The first man pushed the other two away, and appeared to be blushing.

"Don't listen to them, Lucy! Anyways, I just wanted to check up on-" He was cut off again by a dark haired man flashing a small smile while greeting Lucy politely.

"Hey Rogue, what's up? Where's Yukino?" Lucy asked, and a white haired woman appeared, along with another dark haired woman.

"Hey Yukino! Minerva! I haven't seen you in ages! Sorry about that! Have you guys been keeping up with that weekly tournament while I was gone?"

"Oh, we couldn't! Everyone was so worried when you left without a trace. And then that whole kidnapping thing happened, and right after that, Fairy Tail was attacked, and you had disappeared again. You really gave us a scare!" The dark haired woman said in a stern, yet kind tone.

"Hehe, sorry about that! By the way, Yukino, I got Acnologia's key!" Lucy exclaimed excitedly. The white haired woman squealed, her eyes sparkling.

"HOLY CHEESE! REALLY?! YOU HAVE TO LET ME MEET YOUR OTHER DRAGONS LATER, TOO!" She screamed, and I cringed at the loudness of her voice. Lucy seemed physically hurt, but nodded sheepishly. Then, finally, the original blonde appeared on the screen, and he was apparently running away from everyone else, judging by the shaking of the image, and the thudding sound of footsteps.

"Whoo~! Finally! Hey, I just wanted to talk to you because of that whole thing that happened yesterday… I have a confession to make…" He trailed off, and his eyes darted to me. He seemed hurt.

"Yo, who's that behind you?" He questioned, putting on a stoic mask. I waved nervously as Lucy turned around to catch me eavesdropping. Walking up, I smiled at the other man.

"Hi, I'm Lucy's childhood friend. Don't worry, though, she's not mine!" I assured the man, giving him a knowing look. He looked down, all of a sudden his cheerful mood gone, and turned back to Lucy.

"Anyways, I'll talk to you about that thing the next time we see each other… Later!" The blonde shouted, slightly flustered, and Lucy weakly waved, a little dazed at what just happened. Then, she suddenly let out a loud laugh.

"Nice to see that Sabertooth's as rowdy as always" She chuckled, and I grinned. Sitting back down, I watched as she reached for her keys again.

"Open, Gate of the Reborn Souls, the King of Fire Dragons, Igneel!" She shouted, and I watched in awe as a massive, fire red dragon appeared with a poof.

"SUP!" He roared, and I kept staring.

"Quiet down, will you? Anyways, I called you to officially make our contract" Lucy lightly scolded the dragon, and took out a pad and pencil.

"I'm free all days of the week, so call me when you need me! Well, I'm gonna go take a nap now, so peace!" The dragon exclaimed, and disappeared as suddenly as he came. Lucy wrote something down, and sighed, replacing the key in her hand with another one, how did she differentiate between all of them?, and held it out the same way she did the previous one.

"Open, Gate of the Tortured Souls, King of the Reborn Souls, Acnologia!" She exclaimed, and this time, and larger, seemingly more powerful black dragon with electric blue swirls appeared.

"I heard from that moron. Same thing for me, free all days of the week, see you later…" The dragon said, bored, and disappeared as the other dragon had. Lucy wrote something else down, and shrugged her shoulders, stretching. I was interested, but as I was about to ask, someone appeared from the bushes. He had a black bow and arrow mark on his shoulder, so I was guessing he was from Wizard Hunters. I glanced at Lucy, who seemed to take the hint.

"Holy Judgement!" She yelled, unconcerned as a huge beam of holy magic shot out her hands, knocking out the opponent and blowing away trees in a 500 mile radius. Well, that's what it seemed like. We ran over to the dude, who was cleanly knocked out, and tied him up with some magical restraining ropes that Lucy brought out from who-knows-where.

"That was easy, but it's not like I'm complaining. Still, I think that I could've used a weaker attack, and it wouldv'e turned out the same way" she muttered under her breath, and I laughed. Lugging the man over my shoulder, we began to walk to police station.

"That was really cool, though!" I told her my opinion truthfully, and she looked away shyly.

"it was nothing, but…" She turned to look at me in the eyes and smirked.

"He's not the real deal, because he's just a messenger…" Lucy said, and I stared back, confused.

"What do you mean?" I asked, curious.

"A messenger of war!" Lucy smiled now, mischief gleaming in her eyes. In her hands, she held up a small scroll that she had apparently retrieved from the still passed out mage, because it had his guild mark stamped onto the parchment.

"To you, the guild of the fairies, we merely wish to test you, so now it's your time to prove yourselves. Now, with this in mind, we declare war, From Zeref! Well, at least he was blunt..." Lucy exclaimed, and she looked excited. I just gaped at her for the umpteenth time today.

"This is war… shouldn't you be concerned?!" I backed away from her a bit, seeing that she had a deadly aura about her.

"Nah, Fairy Tail's got this in the bag. And besides, we've beaten them before, so this'll be easy. Anyways, it'll be a good distraction from…" She turned her face downcast for a moment, and I faintly saw her smile falter, but then she raised her head again, and grinned at me. Raising a brow but not saying anything, I continued to walk, breathing in relief. Sure, we had beat them before, but there was no telling how much stronger they've gotten over the years… But I was still able to seek some comfort, seeing that Lucy herself was very powerful, and we were a good team. And if the rest of Fairy Tail was as strong as it was known to be, then we would be fine. But, what did she mean by a distraction…?

We walked into the guild hall, and I politely greeted those I didn't know. Following Lucy, I looked around the guild hall with interest. I had seen it before, but never really inspected the inside carefully. My attention started to drift, though, when I saw that tables and chairs were flying everywhere, and almost everyone was in some sort of battle, whether it be in magic, drinking, or just something as random as chess. I took in the sight with awe, and even though it was a bit overwhelming,but I could immediately could see why she loved this place. It was basically he opposite of the rigid, proper, rich life that she had lived and despised before. Also, this place had a nice energy going on that I admired.

I sat down at a table next to Lucy, and observed her interactions with the others. With Erza, she seemed close and friendly to her, as if they were sisters. I smiled at the thought of Nina again. I shifted my eyes over to Gray, and they were also really close, like brother and sister. I watched Lucy then play the older sister with a girl I now knew to be named Wendy, and it was the same for Happy. Then, my eyes shifted over to Natsu. They seemed to be the closest out of the bunch. Lucy's smile never faltered with him, and I watched fondly over my friend as she joked and laughed with him. I pulled out and wore my Cal Glasses, a data collector. Observing the two, I grinned inwardly. I didn't know much about dragon slayers, but I knew that my Cal Glasses were always right. Standing up to go introduce myself to some others, I waved to Lucy, and once I had my back turned, I let my smile grow wider and wider. At first, I thought that this man named Sting was Lucy's mate, but the glasses had said something different, as now a knew phrase was burned into my mind:

99.9% Chance of Mating.

Sting's POV  
Standing up and stretching my arms out, I yawned. I had just finished all of the paperwork, so being able to stretch out felt just great. Cracking my neck, I walked over to the calendar I hung on one of the walls. Mating season would officially start on March 12th. Until then, I had some time until I went crazy. Stretching out my other arm, I jumped out the window, wanting to get some fresh air.

 _Lucy…_

My thoughts kept echoing her name, but I smiled in sadness. I couldn't really love her… I mean, of course I loved her, but I couldn't actually do anything for her… Besides, I've always promised to save my heart for someone else, so I can't do anything now. I needed to tell her, before hearts were broken more than necessary, and before misunderstanding and trouble arose...

 _"Come back for me, okay?"_

 _"Yeah, I definitely will. Don't worry, I'll come back for you. For now, I love you…"_

Those two lines of conversation pounded through my head, and my smile turned to one of happiness. _Anyways, she was always his… We've both been played for fools by fate. She was always his… Now just for her to realize the truth of the matter…_

 ** _Sorry, I know it's short, but it's just that i have a lot going on right now... Hehe, i know, excuses =, excuses. Thanks for the reviews and messages!_**


	20. Summary and Title Explanation for NaLu

**Okay, so i decided that I would explain the meaning of the summary and the title because some of you seem a little foggy, and I don't blame you. In the summary, when I say that the one farthest from her can stick by her forever, I"m sure you weren't expecting Natsu, right? Well, here's where you have to kind of read between the lines. When Natsu was with Lisanna, he was the one who became farthest from Lucy... They were separated for three months, and here Lucy is, wanting to see her best friend again, but only to find him come back and seemingly cold to her? How would you feel in that situation? From there, their relationship is in jagged edges, and everything is basically torn apart, where Natsu is the farthest one away from her. Then, there's the title Evolving Heart. This demonstrates how Lucy evolves through this process, from her getting both physically and mentally stronger. She was heartbroken from Natsu in the beginning, but she evolves and gains a new kind of strength, now being able to accept pain if it's to see her friends happy. Then, with all of the other ships going on, she experiences more happiness, and as she learns more about the two slayers from Sabertooth, she sees new sides of them, and gains new knowledge; that people may not always be genuine. When she was still rich, and even in the beginning, Lucy was always whining and complaining, and she would cry at seemingly small feats when compared to those of Natsu, Erza, Gray, and the others. Now, she's able to accept pain, and make sacrifices for herself... SO, i know that you probably won't read this, but here's the backdrop of everything if you were confused**


	21. Well Then

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy's POV  
I hummed to myself happily as I sipped my strawberry smoothie, and sighed in content. I had a nice start to my morning, beginning with a peaceful and humorous chat with Jay, and along with the absence of the usual rowdy intruders as well as the beautiful weather, everything seemed to be perfect. Stirring my straw around in my cup, I looked at the calendar that lay on the side of the bar. There was only a week until mating season officially began, and being the hopeless romantic that I was, I was looking forward to confirming my suspicions about who my mate was. I was pretty sure that I would be able to find my mate this year, though it would just be really sad if I didn't… Like being alone on a Valentine's Day while eating cold leftovers… I shuddered at the thought and regained my previous happy mood. I took another sip of the drink, savoring the sweet taste as well as the cooling sensation on my tongue. I started to daydream, letting my thoughts wander, but then my communication lacrima rung. Taking it out of my purse, I checked the nnumber and saw that Sting was calling again. My smile grew wider, and, drink in hand, I skipped out of the guild hall to take the sudden call.

"Hey…" Sting said, his face downcast. Immediately, I began to worry about him, all traces of my preceding carefree mood gone.

"What's wrong?" I questioned, genuinely concerned.

"You know how… the other day _that_ happened?" Sting said, raising his head to look me in the eye through the camera feed. I blushed at the memory of the signs, and apparently Sting didn't look too happy about it. He put his head down again, and I shot my gaze towards him.

Sting's POV  
I couldn't tell her that I loved her, but then leave her for herself. That would be selfish, and it would hurt her to no end. The only other choice was to lie. As she picked up, I held my face downcast, so that she wouldn't be able to see the tears that were threatening to spill out. Crazy, I know. Who would've thought that _the_ Sting Eucliffe would be crying over a girl? I quickly wipped my tears subtly, though, and rose my head to look her in the eye. I didn't want to lie to her… I didn't want to lie to myself… But this had to be done, or else we would've been lying to ourselves even more… seeking comfort in what seemed to be fate, but was actually just a misunderstanding. If I had to lie, then I would at least tell the partial truth.

"I love somebody else, please forgive me." I said breathlessly, watching in anxiety as I waited for her reaction. Surely, she thought that she was my mate as well, so why wasn't I getting any reaction? Instead of seeing the expected tears spill over, she smiled at me.

"Don't be sorry. I can't help who you love…" She looked away for a second, her smile faltering, but then she turned to me again.

"Be happy with yourself. If this is what you want to do, then do it!" She exclaimed, shining with Fairy Tail's brilliance. I was about to say something, but was cut off by her now wavering voice.

I saw her eyes start to puff up, and I saw her mouth wavering, as well as her fragile figure start to shake.

"W-well then… See ya later!" She yelled, and the screen flickered, then faded to black. I sighed, putting the lacrima away and ruffling my hair. I felt guilty, yet I also felt a tremendous weight be lifted from my shoulders.

Lucy's POV  
Once I hung up, I let the tears fall. I was heartbroken, really, but a part of me couldn't help but feel happy for him. Puzzled at my contradicting thoughts, I laughed, and wiped the tears away. I guess I really have changed. Before, I would just cry… But now, I'm happy for him. Well, I'm glad that he has someone there for him now, even if it wasn't me. Besides, I'm not really sure that I could've placed our relationship under the category of love. It was more like… a brother sister bond. Letting a small smile grace my lips, I hurriedly rubbed my eyes once more, and then took out a pocket mirror, preparing to fix the mess that my mascara has probably become. Looking at myself, I covered up the faults on my face, and I held up a determined grin. I would get through this, just like how Fairy Tail got through every battle. Clenching my fist and holding it to my chest, I close my eyes before snapping my pocket mirror shut and stuffing it back into my purse. From there, I sipped my smoothie once again, a bit of pain lingering on my heart, but ignoring it, I skipped back to the guild, as happily as I had exited it.

Natsu's POV

So this… was the relationship I had with Lisanna? I mentally groaned as I shifted my position in the uncomfortable couch, also readjust my grip on the millions of shopping bags that the white haired takeover mage had made me carry.

 _Natsu… you've always been there for me. And I want to do something for you. SO, from now on, I grant you the privilege of becoming my shopping buddy!_

I remembered that one, clear sentence ring through my head, and groaned again. Of course, I had done everything in my power to refuse the 'honor' as politely as I could, but it was to no avail. When Lisanna came out of the dressing rooms with three more bags, my shoulders slumped considerably. Noticing this, Lisanna smiled an obviously sugar coated smile that also held an edge of bitterness to it.

"Natsu… You're having fun aren't you? Nobody else would go with me, so you're having fun with me, aren't you? Tell me you're having fun, right?" Lisanna said threateningly, holding her purse out, ready to take a swing at me if I said something wrong. Gulping, I put on a fake smile and nervously nodded, and Lisanna seemed to be pleased with that, nodding at me in approval as she went to purchase the items she had brought with her out of the dressing rooms.

Lucy's POV

I felt as if I was forgetting something somehow… Shrugging it off, I pushed my hands deeper into my jacket pockets, zoning out the noise and rowdiness of the guild. I was awakened from my trance, though, when I felt something brush my fingertips. Curious, I fished out a crumpled, small piece of paper from my pocket, and realized that it had an oddly similar guild mark stamped onto it…

"HOLY SHNAZZLEPOPS, THIS IS WAR!" I shouted, scolding myself on forgetting something so important. Everybody stared at me weirdly as I scrambled up to Master's office, excited.

"War? With this guild?" Master said, his brows furrowed. I nodded, watching his reactions carefully. He stayed silent for a bit, and I began to panic on the inside, all of a sudden worrying if this was much more serious than it had let on during the note's first encounter with my observant eyes. My worries were killed off, however, when Master grinned at me, malice in his eyes.

"Zeref, aye? Let's go show that old punk who's boss!" Master said, now excited as well. I shook my head at his restlessness, but my smile had returned, now brighter than ever. _That's right… This'll be a good distraction, and in two ways, for both the guild and I…_

Master's POV  
If this was just a test, then there was no harm, right? Besides, it's time to show who's pulling the ropes around here. Dark lord my butt, we weren't going to make fools of ourselves this time. I walked out of the office, feeling Lucy's determined eyes on my back, and climbed onto the banister as I usually did when I made announcements.

"LISTEN UP BRATS!" I yelled, briefly going into my huge, demonic form, and watched in amusement as everyone stopped midway in their brawl, some falling unceremoniously from the air while others dropped cards, rings, and other magic items in shock.

Clearing my throat, I reverted back to my normal form, and used my regular voice.

"This is a test, but this is a war. A game between Zeref and us. NOW, LET'S SHOW THEM WHAT WE'RE MADE OF!" I yelled without further explanation, but those few words were enough to rile everyone up. Thank Mavis that Natsu wasn't here right now, or else I'm sure that he would've burned down the guild in a matter of seconds. I chuckled at the fired up expressions of my children, and hopped off of the banister, standing face to face with Lucy, who had been standing behind me during the announcement. She flashed me a grin of approval, and I returned it with my own toothy one. She happily skipped down the stairs to the main hall, and I walked back to my office, the grin never leaving my face. After all the hell we've been through, something told me that this would be fun…

Lucy's POV  
I bounded down the stairs, giggling at everyone's excited behavior. They were just like little kids who found out that the ice cream truck was coming. Sitting down at the bar, I had nothing to do, but I didn't feel like going home, so idecided to go out back to the training grounds.

"Hey, Mira. Can you fix up the training grounds for me?" I asked the surprisingly not busy bartender.

"Sure no problem. But wow, I've never seen you use the grounds. Not that I can blame you, with Natsu, Erza, And Gray always turning it into a war zone!" Mira giggled along with me as she wiped her hands with a towel and led me out back.

"I know, right? I just didn't feel like going home… Today's too beautiful of a day to waste, you know?" I pointed out, and Mira nodded in agreement as we stepped outside, feeling the sun wash over our skin. Breathing in the fresh air, I smiled. I watched as Mira began setting up a barrier around the area, and magically set up some dummies and targets. Once she was done, I said my word of thanks, and curiously stepped into the area. I saw multiple weapons laid out, but I decided to use my regular knives. Smirking, I jumped up and quickly pulled my knives from their hiding place in my jacket pocket. Looking at the magically charged targets, I made swift choices in my attack. I charged a knife with holy magic, and sent it flying towards a shadowy target, getting bulls-eye. Doing the same with the other targets, I quickly used my elemental card magic for different targets, and ten minutes later, I finished up all 100 of the targets. Landing back on the ground kneeling, I breathed in the fresh air once again, but this time, I felt etherions fill my body, and felt the magic coursing through me. After half a minute, I did a back flip and jumped back up into the air, beginning to use straight up magic attacks. As I cut down dummies and targets, I let all of my feelings pour out, yelling at the sky as my once supressed anger, confusion, and sadness overtook me at once.

Mira's POV  
I was about to go outside tell Lucy that her reservation time was up, but I stopped in my tracks when I heard her yelling viciously, crashes and thuds from her attacks echoing throughout the guild hall. Smiling sadly, I continued on my path. I wasn't too surprised to see that the training grounds had been wrecked, but I was surprised to see that Lucy was a disheveled mess. On the outside, she seemed like a fierce warrior, but that changed when I looked into her chocolate brown eyes. They were filled with hurt, with confusion, and I stopped once again, just outside the barrier, and began to lightly knock on it, earning the blonde mage's attention.

"Oh… Hi Mira…" Lucy trailed off, panting as she rested her hands against her knees. I smiled my usual smile in reply, and took down the barrier, starting to chant a spell in which it started to magically fix the training area. Once I was done, I threw Lucy a bottle filled with some water that you could only find on Mt. Hokabe. She took it gratefully and uncorked the cap, starting to quickly drink up the rejuvenating liquid. After a few seconds, Lucy lowered her previously raised head, and thanked me.

"Whew, you're a lifesaver, Mira!" She exclaimed, stretching out as the water started to magically energize her. Laughing, I just walked back inside the guild with her, and started to make some small talk. Eventually, all of the other girls joined us, and it became a full blown girl talk.

"So… What's up with everyone's love lives?" I asked, smirking with a devious gleam in my eyes.

"Juvia is expecting children!" The water mage yelled ambitiously, and nearby, Gray started to blush while the men cheered, and the girls all giggled sheepishly at her straightforwardness. Smiling to myself contentedly, I mentally checked her off on my match-making target list. Turning to Levy, I tuned in to hear what she was saying.

"-So we went to this really chill café for our fourth date, and it was really fun! He even let me go to the library, even though it must've been so boring for him! And guess what? I even saw him starting to read that book I recommended! The blue haired mage yelled, gushing as a tinge of pink dusted her cheeks. Smirking, I silently cheered Gajeel on, and also checked the pairing off. I didn't even have to ask the other blunette in the guild, as everyone saw her clearly talking to Romeo. We all sighed, happy with the young love floating throughout the air. As everyone put in their nickel, I couldn't help but notice the obviously forced smile that Lucy wore, and how her eyes seemed so distant as she listened to others. Not wanting to cross the line, I didn't say anything, and continued with my usual routine as the guild was its usual rowdy self.

Natsu's POV  
When Lisanna had used her lion takeover to lug the bags back to her place, finally leaving me alone, I ran at full speed, bursting through the guild doors. All of a sudden, an intoxicating scent wafted through the air, and I had to do a double take. I looked around, only to find the source of the scent being Lucy. Well, Lucy always had a special scent to her, but this… this was different. When I realized what was going on, though, I started to scratch at my mind. I thought she wasn't my mate… so what was this feeling? Oh well, it's probably not important… I thought this as I started drooling at the scent of food, pushing my jumbled feelings to the back of my mind. Greeting the others, I ran to the bar, excited to finally being able to have some of Mira's fire chicken. The said mage smiled at me knowingly, and I let out another whoop as she placed the fresh, hot flaming piece of meat before me. Biting into it, I started to tune in to the girls' conversation.

"-And then he comes to me all like, IM A MAN!, and I'm just here in the corner, face palming because Elfman was yelling at the male protaganist of this chick flick we were watching, scolding the dude about how he was a wimp for not confessing…" I hear Evergreen say, and I shrugged, tuning in onto Juvia's incoherent chanting. She was swirling a bottle in her hands, and was cornering Gray, and I smirked, thinking she had a new strategy to beat the Ice Freak.

"With this… Gray will surely have kids with Juvia…" The water mage chanted, threatening the said ice mage with a bottle, effectively trapping him in a corner, he backed away, sweating bullets.

"WAIT! I'll have kids with you without the stupid bottle- OH no! That's not what I meant! HELP!" Gray yelled, and I snickered at his helplessness. Getting bored and taking another bite, I decided to dart my eyes over to Levy and Lucy, with the latter a little too quiet.

"Everything'll be okay, don't worry, Lu. You can get through this… You should get a punching bag! You know, to vent your anger out on something!" Levy exclaimed, striking a pose as if she just had the best idea. Lucy nodded, and then got up, murmuring something to Mira. The barmaid nodded, I watched in curiosity as Lucy exited the guild through the back doors. Following her, I saw as she stepped into the training grounds, and I jumped in excitement. Yeah, if there was no one to fight, then fight a dummy! I grinned, but then my excitement slowly melted to confusion. Why would Lucy use the training grounds? She never used them… As I began to ponder this, my head jerked up to see Lucy stabbing a dummy through the chest, and she let out a blood-curling scream, one filled with so much emotion, that I decided that now wasn't the best time to interrogate her. Well, Mira was the next best thing, wasn't she? With this, I ran back inside the guild, aiming to get some answers.

Levy's POV  
I watched as Natsu followed Lucy out happily, but then stared at him, confused, as he came back in just as fast, a troubled expression on his face. Just as I was about to ask him what was wrong, I heard a scream, one that could only be Lucy's. Immediately, I understood that he was worried about her. Everyone in the guild was. I was the only one who she had told, but Lucy had been like this all day, going to the training grounds and venting out her feelings every hour or so. I stirred my iced tea thoughtfully, and decided that I shouldn't interfere. If this is what he wanted to do, then I should let him be. I studied him as he began to talk to Mira, and started to observe.

"What's wrong with Lucy?" Natsu said plainly, and I smiled wryly at his bluntness.

"I… don't know" Mira answered honestly, and I knew that it must've been secretly killing her on the inside, not being able to do anything for Lucy. She must've still been feeling guilty about the whole Lisanna dilemma at the very beginning.

"I… Don't know, but I think that it's best that you leave her be for now…" Mira repeated herself again, and continued, uncertainly. At this, Natsu let out a low growl.

"Why not? She's our friend, so we should be helping her in any way we can!" Natsu rose his voice, and slammed his fists against the table. Hearing his outburst, the whole guild stayed silent for a moment, looks of guilt and worry coating the faces of the members. Timidly, I spoke up.

"Natsu… What I feel is best for Lucy right now is that she just lets her feelings out by herself…" I voiced out my real feeling, and Gajeel patted my back reassuringly. Natsu looked at me for a moment, and I was afraid that he was going to start yelling again, but he sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well, is that's how her second best friend sees it, then I guess that's best!" Natsu said cheerfully, and the guild chuckled lightly at his sudden mood change. Giggling softly to myself, I suddenly stopped when I processed what he said, and I walked over slowly to him, a deadly aura surrounding me.

"What do you mean by _second_ best friend…?" I questioned threateningly, and the guild became quiet again, but Natsu didn't seem to notice it.

"Hey, Flame Brain…" Gajeel said, knowing from first hand experience how angry girls could be.

"Well, I'm obviously Luce's first best friend, _duh…!"_ Natsu said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. I glared at him.

"No, I'm pretty sure that everyone here thinks of me as Lu- chan's best friend!" I shot back, and Natsu looked at me, eyes wide, but then he settled into a comfortable smirk. I returned it.

"Are you sure about that? Well, here, I have a nickname for here that only I call her! It's Luce!" Natsu said, and I was honestly stumped at that for a moment. Then, I looked up, grinning maniacally.

"Well, I also have a nickname for her, because we're _so_ comfortable together. SO, let's hold a bet. Winner gets the title as her best friend. I call her by you nickname for her, and you call her by my nickname for her. It'll just prove how close we are, and how we can call each other anything…" I challenged, and started to laugh inwardly. Natsu, being the oblivious person he is, accepted without batting an eyelash. I let out a low chuckle.

"Okay then… So I'll call her Luce, and you'll call her… Lu-chan…" I couldn't hold back the fit of giggles that made its way out of me, and everyone joined in imagining one of the strongest Fairy Tail mages saying such a cute nickname. Natsu blushed, seeing what he got himself into, and murmured something about how girls were crazy. Of course, he couldn't back out now. I grinned wider. Everything started to going into action when Lucy walked in about half an hour later. Smiling, I called out to her.

"Luce! Catch!" I yelled, making an excuse to talk to her, throwing a book in which she easily caught. She replied nonchalantly at the subtle nickname, and I also felt how the name slipped smoothly out of my mouth, not awkward in the least bit. _Now, this will be interesting…_ I thought to myself as she said thanks and started gulping down some water. Then, I saw Natsu sheepishly approach her. Giving him a mental shove that I was sure he felt, he looked up, and then grinned confidently.

"Lu-chan! Make me some food!" He yelled for all the guild to hear, and, for third time today, the guild fell into an anxious silence. Lucy stared at him shocked, and everyone waited for the reaction that would end this little feud. After a few minutes had passed, Natsu started to blush a deep shade of red, and red as his fire, and he covered his mouth with his hand to prevent the blush from spreading.

Natsu's POV  
When she didn't respond, I felt my cheeks start to heat up, and I placed my hand over my mouth, hoping to hide the fire on my burning cheeks. While I was at it, I made sure that I wasn't _actually_ on fire. I looked away, knowing that I would blush even more if I met Luce's unwavering, brown eyes. When I met them, though, she smiled, and I felt relieved that I wouldn't lose the bet. Everyone stared as she made her way over to me, and then she placed her hand on my head, messing up my head. When her cool, slim fingers weaved skillfully in my pink locks, I bit back my tongue to keep from moaning, but I lost the battle. I surprised myself, the guild, and Lucy, and Lucy then quickly regained her composure, watching as I started to blush even more. She took my hand, and we walked out of the guild. Then, she whispered to me in a voice so low that I could only hear.

"Okay…" I smirked as I looked back at Levy, who now had hearts in her eyes, apparently unconcerned that this matter was at a standstill… for now.

Lucy's POV  
When he said that… it was kind of cute… BUT IT WAS ALSO SUPER EMBARRASSING! I mentally yelled in frustration as I led Natsu out of the guild hall, knowing that I was badly losing the battle to hold back a blush from spreading like a wildfire all over my body. As I walked in silence with my best friend, I realized that we were still holding hands, and I abruptly let go, looking away. He seemed puzzled, but shrugged as we continued to walk back to my place. And let me tell you, it felt like the longest walk of my life, and that's saying a lot, considering the training that I had undergone. We walked in silence, but then, oh-so-courteous of Natsu, he decided to break it. Little did I know that the next few words coming out of his mouth would change my life forever…

"How's your rent?"

I stopped walking, my eyes wide. Falling to my knees, I dug through my mind, trying to remember the date. Well, according to my calculations… Oh no. I lay down on the cobblestone road, ignoring the looks I got from passerbys. Holding Natsu's hand, I gave him my will.

"Natsu… My rent… is due today… And there's war, too…" Natsu perked up at the last part, and he fist pumped the air as he usually did, running towards the guild while he left me alone, to die.


	22. A Dinner Together

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Lucy's POV

I wiped off the sweat off of my forehead, and admired my work. In about two hours, I had been able to defeat a dark guild, and return home with my rent money. I sighed in relief as I walked out of the landlady's office, and up to my room. Closing the door behind me and slumping onto it, I let out another, but tired, sigh. Reaching into my jacket pocket, I fingered the note of war that I had received a few days prior. I couldn't help but wonder how this'll turn out. Also… there's been no sign of Kukyo as of late. I wonder where he went…? With my thoughts swirling through my head, I walked over limply to my bed and flopped myself onto it. Kicking off my boots, I stared at the ceiling. I've been so busy… Shaking my head, I willed myself not to think of stressful things, and struggled to just relax. I quickly lost the internal war, though, and rested my hand on my forehead. Reaching under my shirt, I pulled out the locket that my mother gave me. Popping it open, I looked fondly at the picture of my family. Whew… So much has happened. I wasn't the Lucy in this picture… I was a completely different person… I was wild, had no manners, and was in a guild just as rowdy as I, with people a lot stronger than me. I smiled as I closed the locket, thinking about how everyone always supported each other. As I clasped the necklace tightly to my chest, and then started to tuck it back under my shirt, I called out to my mother and father.

"My family's great, aren't they? You don't have to worry about me…" I whispered, and closed my eyes briefly, enjoying the comforting of sinking into the bed. After about 5 minutes, my eyes shot open, and I swing my legs off of the edge of the bed, getting up. Stretching, I pulled on my boots again, and, not bothering to use the door, just jumped out of the window in a Natsu- like fashion. I was in a hurry. I had to get to the guild. It was the only thing keeping me sane right now. Pumping my legs faster, I felt the wind tousle and toy with my hair, and it felt great. My earlier fatigue was washed away as I was seemingly enveloped in nature.

"I'm back!" I shouted, bursting through the guild hall as I usually did as of late. Everyone was a little surprised, probably not expecting me to come back. I overheard Erza talking about the whole war situation with Natsu. Spotting Jay, I made my way over to him.

"Hey! We live together and all, but it's like I never see you anymore!" I joked in greeting, and Jay smirked.

"Good evening to you, too." He replied, playing with a golden ball of magical energy. My eyes widened in surprise.

"Wait, don't tell me that you mastered holy magic?"I asked, inspecting the powerful orb of energy that Jay had conjured up with ease. He grinned in response, and I squealed in happiness.

"Oh, that's great! Before, you could beat anybody with just your fists, but with this…" My head went dizzy with all of the possibilities of how Jay could use his power.

"It's no big deal, but…" Jay looked to the side, his mouth forming a tight line.

"I'll have to leave soon… Nina isn't feeling well…" He continued, and I gasped in shock. Immediately, I bombarded him with questions.

"What?! How is she?! Has she been taking her meds?! Where is she?! Who is she with?!" I spat out, concerned for my childhood friend. I didn't want to lose anyone else important to me.

"Calm down. I just got a call that she's been transferred to the emergency room. Her grandparents are there with her. The doctor just told me that she had a minor attack. You know the drill…" Jay tried to sound nonchalant to calm my nerves, but he himself was sweating, and he looked tired. I felt bad that the thing that was holding him back from being with his family was I. Placing a cool hand on his shoulder, I blew my bangs away and looked away.

I dragged him up, and led him towards the guild doors. Opening them, I placed my hands on his back.

"Go, go home. That's where you belong. Go back… It was nice seeing you while it lasted. Tell Nina that I said hi." With that, I pushed him out of the guild, and watched his shocked expression as the doors slowly closed. When I heard the sound of his retreating footsteps, I walked back to the table, and sat down. I hope that Nina was okay… We were always there for each other, but now that we weren't, I couldn't help but think of the worst again. Running my hands through my disheveled hair, I put my head down on the table, trying to calm myself down.

TIME SKIP  
I had spent almost an hour here, and I guessed that it was time to go. Getting up, I said my goodbyes to everyone for the second time today. As I started to walk to the doors, I felt a hand stop me.

"Luce, I'm coming with you!" Natsu said cheerfully, and I gave him a lopsided smile. Of course he was. Nodding to indicate that I heard him, we walked out together, and started to make our way towards my apartment.

"So, are you staying over tonight? Jay left, so…" I trailed off, looking at the moon's reflection on the river.

"Hell yeah!" Natsu grinned, and ran ahead of me. Turning around so that he was facing me, he began to walk backwards.

"Say, Luce, remember before? You owe me dinner!" Natsu continued, a glint in his eyes. I rolled mine at him, and smiled again.

"Yeah, yeah. Then let's stop by at the store. Knowing you, we'll have to buy the store's whole jalapeno supply…" I retorted, and Natsu nodded his head vigorously.

"I want meat! And some spicy dessert!" Natsu yelled again, and I put my finger up to my chin thoughtfully. How am I supposed to make spicy dessert? Maybe… Oh, pepper flaked dark chocolate cake should do it. Nodding to myself as I tuned out Natsu's rant about food, I made a mental list of things that I needed to buy. When we arrived at the store, I quickly bought the things I needed, and we continued on our way.

"Hey, how come you never told me about this war business?" Natsu whined, and I shrugged in reply.

"Hehe… Sorry, it kind of slipped my mind…" I said truthfully, and Natsu snorted.

"Wow, Luce, you sure are a clutz!"  
"Says the guy who basically destroys everything on every mission." I shot back, and after a short glaring contest, we burst out into laughter.

We arrived at my apartment, and Natsu immediately flopped onto the couch. He turned on my recently bought flat screen lacrima TV, and flipped onto some action movie. Putting the bags down onto the counter, I started to cook and prepare the grilled steak. I made two batches, one for Natsu, which was chock full of peppers, and one for me, a simple steak that a _normal_ person would eat. I slightly giggled at the thought, and soon enough, the steak was cooked. Plating it, I set it to the side as I prepared the dessert. Once it was safely in the oven, I put on the timer and handed Natsu his plate.

Looking at me curiously, he raised an eyebrow.

"We can eat on the couch this time…?" He questioned cautiously, and I hesitantly, yet firmly, nodded, knowing that I would a have a mess to clean up later. Natsu flashed me his signature grin before offering his word of thanks and beginning to eat his food while watching the movie. Chewing on a piece of steak, I quickly got bored of the movie, and got up to get Natsu's 20th serving. And here I was, only halfway through my first. Taking his plate, I walked to the kitchen, and took out some more meat. I watched him from the counter, and giggled at his excited expressions. Walking back to him, I gave him his plate and voiced my thoughts aloud.

"Natsu, you're weird, you know?"

"Nah, I think _you're_ the weird one, Luce," Natsu said, looking up from the movie.

"By the way, why did you call me Lu- chan earlier?" I asked, a slight blush painting my cheeks. Natsu, on the other hand, was burning up, and I was afraid that he might actually catch fire, considering his magic.

"W-well, I had this bet with Levy, and it was to decide who was your bestest friend…" Natsu trailed off, and I silently scolded his grammar, being the writer that I was. But the thought of Natsu fighting over me gave me a warm feeling inside. Sitting next to him, I casually leaned my back on his side while throwing my legs off of the other side of the couch. I usually did this, but this time, a chill went down my spine. I momentarily choked on a piece of meat, and immediately gulped down some water, sputtering. _Was I falling in love with him again?_

Natsu's POV  
When Lucy started to lean on me, I stiffened, but then immediately covered up by trying to act casual. There it was again- that spark. I shook my head lightly, but started to panic when Lucy started to choke. Flustered, the first thing that came to my mind was CPR… but I guess that wasn't necessary, seeing how she quickly got over it, though only after gulping down a gallon of water. When she cleared her throat and started panting, the movie now forgotten, I laughed at her exasperated expression. She tried to glare at me, but then we erupted into laughter together, for the second time today.

"Up for dessert?" She asked once we had gotten over ourselves, glancing at my empty plate with an arched eyebrow. I could smell the cake from the kitchen, and I was basically drooling at this point, so I guess that Lucy took that as a yes. When she got up, I realized the vision that I had before. CPR… OH HELL NO! What… What am I thinking? I thought that we were over that whole thing… I started blushing again, much to my dismay, and I once again tried to act casual as Lucy came in with two plates, though one was considerably larger than the other. Handing me the bigger plate, I grinned at my friend.

"You know me too well, Luce!" I said, already having shoved a mouthful of cake into my mouth. It was spicy and sweet, the perfect combination. Inhaling it, I stabbed another forkful into my mouth. Surprisingly, I was full rather quickly, and leaned my head back, patting my growing stomach. I watched as Lucy continued to eat her cake, though, and couldn't help but stare. Her posture, the way she ate, and the way she politely chewed… It was all perfect. Even if she was casual, I guess old habits die hard, right? When she was done, she looked up to see me staring, and then cocked her head in a very cute manner. Wanting to get out of this situation, I took her plate, and called out over my shoulder.

"I'll do the dishes, so why don't you entertain yourself?" I said, out of my usual character, though I didn't really care, as long as it would get me out of that embarrassing situation. She started to respond, but I cut her off.

"C'mon, it's the least that I can do, Luce!" I said, regaining my composure. She sighed, and then numbly nodded, but that was only before she threatened me.

"If you burn anything, and I mean _anything,_ you will pay, Natsu Dragneel." She glowered, and I gulped knowing that she could easily beat me when she was this mad, n her demon form. Nodding vigorously, I lunged for the kitchen, and behind the fridge, hiding from Luce's terrifyingly observant eyes. When I heard her movement and saw her turning back to the TV, I sighed. Then, I realized that I had gotten myself into a situation worst than the last. So… How did you wash dishes again?

Lucy's POV  
I changed the channel and started to watch some romance anime. I was momentarily lost in the intriguing plot, as the heroine was about to bravely confess her feelings, but then I heard a loud crash, and my head snapped back up. Turning off the TV with dread, I looked over my shoulder, bracing myself for the horrendous sight I was bound to see. And boy, was I right. I saw a flash of pink, and overflowing sink, and a bunch of bubbles everywhere. Luckily, I didn't smell any smoke or anything, so I just stood up and walked over. Glowering slightly at my friend, he cowered as he hid behind the counter, and I slumped my shoulders as I walked over to turn off the sink. I slipped on the way, though, and face planted in a pool of bubbles. I heard stifled laughter, and I saw Natsu clasping his hand over his mouth, trying not to laugh so he wouldn't meet his doom. Getting up, I wiped the bubbles off of my eyes, and turned off the faucet, not before slipping up a few more times, though. Having enough, I turned to him while chuckling evilly. When he wasn't looking, I dived right for him, tackling him to the ground. Using this rare chance, I made him a bubble beard while commencing a tickle attack.

"NO! Stop! Please~ I beg for mercy, oh Great Lucy!" Natsu wheezed out between laughs, tears pooling out of the corners of his eyes. Liking the way he was addressing me, I pulled back and flaunted a dramatic pose, but Natsu soon got his revenge as he tackled me, sending us both back to the ground again.

"HEHE! PAYBACK TIME!" He shouted before assaulting me, and I was trying so hard not to snort.

"I'm sorry! Forgive me! I'll do anything! Just-just stop!" I panted, rolling around on the floor while trying to writhe out of his firm grasp. When he was done with me, we were both on the ground, panting, laughing like fools with bubble beards while surrounded in a fort of dish wash. Clutching my sides, which were sore from laughing, I accepted the helping hand that Natsu offered, and looked at the mess that was my kitchen. The dishes weren't even washed.

"Natsu, how were you able to get dish wash everywhere _except_ the actual dishes?" I asked, though we both knew that it was a rhetorical question. He laughed nervously, and I rubbed the back of my neck. Checking the time, I saw that it was still pretty early. Treading carefully through the bubbles, trying not to slip, I grabbed two mops and a bucket, and threw one to Natsu, who easily caught it. He stared at the tool in confusion, but perked up when I started to speak.

"We're cleaning up." I stated firmly, and before, he could whine or complain, I turned on the radio, humming to the song as I started to wipe the floor. Grumbling Natsu followed suit, and we worked in a comfortable silence. Halfway through, though, I realized something. Putting down my mop, I used my elemental card magic to quickly wash away the remaining bubbles with ease, and dried everything with some wind magic. Natsu gaped at me, but then he threw the mop at me, and started complaining.

"Mou, couldn't you do that like, what? Twenty minutes ago?" He asked, rolling his eyes. Chuckling, I gave him a repeat of the answer I gave him before.

"Sorry, it slipped my mind?" Natsu scoffed and replied in the same manner.

"Wow, you sure are a clutz Luce." Not wanting to go through a repeat of the whole night, I grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Natsu nodded in content at my answer, and then ran his hands through his bubble filled hair. Noticing this, I gave him a change of clothes, and pushed him into the bathroom.

"You can take a shower first. Just don't use up all the hot- Oh nevermind." I interrupted myself midway, knowing that Natsu didn't _need_ hot water. Sitting down on the carpeting gingerly, I smiled at my forgetfulness. I repeated the words that Natsu had said to me so many times.

"Yeah, I really am a clutz…"

Natsu's POV

I got out of the shower after I had dried my hair, pulling on the comfortable shirt that Lucy always kept for me as I walked to the living room. Lucy shot up, and eagerly dived into the bathroom.

"Geez, why does she like showering so much…?" I asked myself, never being able to get the answer to that question. Throwing myself onto the bed, I enjoyed how I practically sunk into it, and took in Luce's scent. Whenever I sniffed her, Luce always called me a pervert, but I couldn't help it. Strawberries and vanilla made a surprisingly good, and intoxicating, combination. My thoughts wandering, I thought of the upcoming battle. I grinned, knowing that I was definitely going to kick some butt. But then, I frowned. When was it going to start?  
I hadn't realized how much time had passed until Lucy had come out of the bath, and I know that she always takes _forever_ to come out. Taking this opportunity, I decided to ask her what was on my mind.

"Say, Luce. About this whole war thing, do you know when it actually _starts?"_

This seemed to get her thinking, as she stopped where she was, and got this distant look in her eyes. Putting her hand up to her chin like she usually did when she was thinking about something, she finally seemed to give up after a couple of minutes, as she shrugged and then slumped her shoulders.

"Honestly… I don't know. Why don't we ask the guild tomorrow?" She said, and I nodded, snuggling into the bed. She yawned and, probably to tired to kick me out, laid down next to me, scooting closer for warmth. I smiled to myself at this innocent action, and subtly wrapped my arms around her. It was perfect.


	23. One Step at a Time

Lucy's POV

I gingerly stepped out of bed, not wanting to wake up the sleeping dragon slayer. Getting ready as quickly as I could, I left Natsu some food on the table and headed out. Checking my watch, it read 6 am. I hoped that the guild was open at this hour. It was so early, and the air was a bit chilly, so I wrapped my sweater around me tighter.

"Sheesh, and here I thought we were on the brink of spring…" I muttered to myself, enjoying the satisfying sound of my heels clapping on the pavement. Looking back, I smiled towards my apartment. Natsu sure was a heavy sleeper. Turning back around, I started to balance on the edge of the river as I usually did, sticking my hands out to keep balance. The night before, when Natsu asked that question… it brought me back to reality. Really, sometimes that boy can make me forget about everything. I wondered where Kukyo was, since he hadn't made a move yet. I still have yet to locate that crystal chamber, but I'm not sure when I'll have the time. That's why I decided to wake up earlier today. I needed to actually get something done. With a determined nod, I continued walking, and then darted to the forest. With the coverage of the surrounding vegetation, I used my dragon senses to sniff out Kukyo. Getting a faint lead, which was surprising, I pulled up my cloak, and headed east, a small smile gracing my lips. I had a feeling that this would be a long day. With that thought tucked into my mind, I ran faster, pumped harder, and steeled myself for what was sure to be chaos. After all, I was a Fairy Tail mage, and Fairy Tail was always getting into some sort of trouble. My small smile turned into a full blown grin as I thought of my crazy, overprotective, yet awesome family.

Natsu's POV  
I woke up, yawning blearily. Immediately, I noticed the absence of my blonde best friend. Shooting up, out of bed, I searched the place. It was 10 in the morning. Eventually, I was led to the table, where there was some wrapped food and a small note. Picking up the small card, I read the neat, tidy script n Lucy's fluid hand.

 _I know that this is sudden, but I feel that I have to go search, because something's not right. Don't worry, I'll definitely come back, Natsu. But for now, I'm going to search for Kukyo. I'll be back in a day, don't worry. I won't do anything reckless, which is probably what you're worried about, but it's not like you're in any position to talk, you freak. Anyways, if you're that worried, just follow my scent. I'm following Kukyo's, but my scent shouldn't be too dim, unless you really are lazy and don't wake up until night or something like that. Anyways, with lots of love, Lucy._

I read the last part of the note, and my heart did this weird jumping thing. Smiling a little to myself, I shook my head lightly. Imagining Lucy, I started talking to the note as if she was really there.

"Idiot. Do you think that you leave me any choice? Of course I would come look for you. I'm fired up now!" I yelled, and jumped out the window, trusting my nose to lead the way. There was no way that I was going to let her out of my sight, ont after all that's happened so far. It's not that I didn't trust in her power, it's just that being near her calmed all of my nerves. She was, after all, my best friend. I couldn't live with myself if I let anything happen to her again. But then, isn't it like that with everyone in the guild? I know that, but… Lucy is special. I can't explain it, but I just know it deep within my heart. Clutching my chest as I ran, I felt my adrenaline pumping, and I was itching to reunite with my friend, even if we had only been apart for a couple of hours. Smelling the scnet of strawberry and vanilla gradually grow stronger, I grinned. _I'm coming for you, Luce._

Lucy's POV  
Kukyo's scent was super strong now. I stopped at a tree to catch my breath. I had been running for a couple of hours. Checking my watch, I know that Natsu must've woken up by now. Taking up a slow walk, I observed my surroundings. I had left the forest a long time ago, and it seemed as if I was in some sort of desert. _Why would he be here…?_ Shrugging, I couldn't help but feel that the whole situation was fishy. I took another step, and I knew that something was definitely wrong. Not that I was an expert or anything, but I was pretty sure that sand wasn't supposed to feel _soft._ As soon as I thought this, the whole scene seemed to shatter, as if it was breaking apart, and some sort of mist faded, revealing golden grasslands. Silently cheering, I was happy that I was able t break through the illusion. Checking my watch again, I knew that I only had about ten more hours to investigate, but then I would have to go back. I knew how overprotective Natsu could be at times, and giggled to myself. Feeling a grumble in my stomach, though, my thoughts were interrupted, and I hastily summoned Virgo, who brought me some food. Sitting down on the soft grass, I said my thanks, and popped one of the rice cakes into my mouth, chewing thoughtfully. I sure had been through a lot with Fairy Tail. Even though it's only been a couple of years, counting Tenroujima, it feels like I've known them my whole life. Swallowing the small bite I had taken, I reached for another rice cake, only to see it snatched away in the second I was about to grab it. Surprised, I looked up, only to be face to face with a certain salmon haired slayer. He popped the stolen rice cake into his mouth, and flashed me a thumbs up.

"Yo!" He said in his usual, casual manner, and I couldn't help but feel nostalgic at the all-too-familiar greeting.

"You came." I bluntly replied, smiling, and Natsu looked taken aback.

"Of course I did, we're best buddies, right?" He said, grinning, and I could only nod. Summoning Virgo, I had her bring a lot more food out, and we began to eat together, sitting in golden grasslands and laughing at the random things. I liked it like this. It was nice.

"Hey, thanks for coming. We need to work hard now, okay? We have a lot of adventures ahead…" I trailed off, looking into his eyes. He looked back, and nodded.

"No problem. Besides…" Natsu trailed off as he stood up, and crouched down next to me so that our faces were inches apart.

"Don't we always have to stick together?" That one line touched me, and I smiled, blushing a bit.

"Geez, what's with you now?" I asked, looking away.

"Nothing. It's just that I'm tired from you always saving my butt. Besides, I have to repay Kukyo for all he's done to our guild!" Natsu said, punching his fist into his other palm. Leaning back and propping myself onto my elbows, I looked up at the sky.

"Ne, Natsu, how do you think we'll be able to handle all of this at once? I mean, Kukyo _and_ Zeref?" I voiced my thoughts aloud, seeing that I had never dealt with two problems at once before. Honestly, it was a little overwhelming.

"Who said we had to do it all at once? We'll take it step by step together, just like we always have!"

I stayed silent for a moment, processing what he had just said. When I finally did, though, I laughed out loud, confusing him, and I threw my head back, smiling a smile that I rarely ever showed these days. He was right. I was just over thinking things. His bluntness was just another thing that I loved about him.

"You're right Natsu. You know, sometimes you're a genius!" I replied happily, and Natsu lifted his head up.

"Yeah, I know right?" He began, but then I decided to mess with him a bit.

"Say, , do you happen to know where Happy is?" I asked innocently, and watched in amusement as Natsu turned pale. As he began to panic, I wiped the tears that started to form. Man, I sure did laugh a lot around Natsu.

"Haha, I'm kidding. He's probably home in Magnolia, whining about the lack of fish in society." I joked, lightening up the mood. Natsu seemed to breathe out in relief, and stood up again. We began to walk again, trying to sense Kukyo. I skipped, humming to myself, something that I've gotten used to doing when I was bored. Natsu's head perked up.

"Luce, what are we gong to do when we get there?" Natsu asked all of a sudden, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Well, we're going to observe him. I've been having a bad feeling lately…" I said, my eyes darting around the scenery.

"Man! This place is soo boring!" Natsu exclaimed, looking in exasperation around the place, calm, swaying grass the only thing that could be seen for miles in each direction. Silently agreeing, I brushed my fingertips across the faces of my keys.

TIME SKIP  
We'd been walking for hours. Just when we were about to give up, though, we finally had a break. Directly under us, we smelled Kukyo. The scent was super strong, and we silently nodded to each other.

"FIRE DRAGON'S IRON FIST!" Natsu shouted, breaking through the ground, revealing an underground chamber of sorts. I cringed, knowing tha tour previous silent communication was wasted, as anyone in a five mile radius could've heard that shout. Blowing some air out, I lightly brushed my bangs aside.

"Natsu! Be quiet!" I whisper yelled in the usual way that I did when we went on missions. He responded by softly chuckling as he helped me down into the crater. Jumping down and wiping the dust off of my thighs, I looked around. There were many corridors, and by the looks of it, there were multiple rooms. Taking in everything, I lit a small flame to light the way, knowing that Natsu would probably burn the place down.

Kukyo's POV

I gripped onto my arm as I pounded against the magic crystal. Cursing under my breath, I watched in near horror as the blood slowly started to seep past my hand. Cursing again, I slumped down. The damn crystal wasn't working. I was expecting to come back and be healed in a flash, but no, fate just had to come a mess up the damn crystal. And, of course, I had to make repairs… _With a broken arm._ Sighing in frustration, my ears perked up as I heard somebody approach. I stood up hurriedly, ignoring the piercing pain in my legs. My eyes darting around, I distinctly heard familiar voices.

"Shit, the brats are here…" I muttered under my breath, panicking. I saw a flash of blonde, and I immediately knew that I was screwed. There was absolutely no way in hell that I would be able to defeat the two of them in this critical condition. Wracking my brain for answers, I did the only thing that I could. I really hated to be the coward here, but there was no other choice. Immediately placing some runes in the entrance to the room I was in, I waited patiently.

Lucy's POV

We kept walking, but then I smelled him. It was Kukyo.

"It's hi-" I slapped my hand over Natsu's mouth as he was about to scream, knowing that Kukyo wasn't to be underestimated. However, I also smelled blood, and my curiosity took over me as I walked in front of a room. My eyes widened. There was a bloody Kukyo, and behind him… A blue crystal?! Jackpot! Silently cheering at his deformed state, Natsu and I started to charge in, but then stopped. We encountered runes, and I stood there, shocked. Natsu didn't seem to notice, though, and continued to charge in. Seeing the delay, I decided to take the chance. Running up next to him, I reached out for the crystal-

I felt myself begin to fade, and I cursed under my breath. Turning around, I quickly scanned my eyes over the runes, and felt disappointment seep in. I had been to naive. Of course there would be a trap. Teleportation runes. I turned on my heel to face Kukyo, and shot one attack at him.

"HOLY JUDGEMENT!" I yelled, but I only managed a tired smirk in triumph as the attack hit him, and Natsu and I teleported back to square one.

Natsu's POV  
What the hell? One minute I was running towards Kukyo, fist raised, and the next, I was running smack dab into a very familiar, pink wall. Rubbing my forehead, I looked around, confused. We were back in Lucy's apartment, and I looked at the said mage for answers. My gaze locked with her tired, disappointed one, and all of a sudden I felt the need to console her.

"Well, that didn't go so well. But there's always next time, right?" She asked tiredly, flashing a smile that wasn't as evident on her face that it was in her eyes. I grinned back, still confused.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure what happened, but you're right. Just take it one at a time, remember?" I chirped in, hoping to lift the mood. Her smile now reached her lips, and, though it was small, I nodded in content. She lopped onto the bed, and started to stare at the ceiling. I looked up t where she was staring at, and became confused once again.

"Hey, Luce. What are you staring at? I mean what's so interesting about the ceiling?" I voiced my questions aloud, staring intently on the ceiling, hoping to ncover some hidden secret by doing so. Instead of getting an immediate response, I heard her chuckle slightly.

"Well, I guess it depends on the person. It's all right here." Lucy said, tapping her head while her gaze shifted over to me. Cocking my head, I tried to find the meaning behind her words.

"In your head?"  
"Yup, in your imagination. You can see all sorts of things with it. You can dream, or you can have nightmares. You can have visions, or relive memories. Or, you can make up something completely unrelated!" Luce chuckled again, looking back at the ceiling.

"Well, you're the writer here, so I guess you make the plot." I pointed out, but she slowly shook her head.

"No, everyone's the author here, writing their own story. Remember that one time you said, ' _I'm going to burn fate to a pile of ashes'?_ It's like that." Luce said, shaking her head at the memory. Sitting down cross legged on the carpet, I looked up at the ceiling. I looked in awe as I saw swirls of colors paint the dull canvas, and I saw many things. I saw Igneel, flying, and I saw myself chasing after him. But then he faded away into Lucy, and I watched as we chased each other around. Then the rest of the guild joined in, and we were all goofing off and laughing. I smiled. Then I turned my head, only to notice Lucy staring at me.

"What?" I asked, looking around me. She shook her head and grinned.

"See anything interesting?"

"Yup"

"Told you"

We sat in silence for a while, but then I popped my head back up, realizing something. Lucy stared at me once again.

"Igneel" I said the name breathlessly, remembering him. Lucy's mouth formed a small 'o' and she grinned, taking me by the hand.

"Almost forgot about him, with all of this madness! I really am weird, aren't I?" She joked, laughing. She pushed me out the window in her usual way, and I met her outside as she ran down the stairs in a hurry. Taking her hand once again, I set off at full speed towards the forest, wanting to see my dragon in a secluded area.

"Woah! Slow down!" Lucy said, a little nervous at my sudden speed, gripping onto my hand tightly. I merely grinned at her reaction.

"Nope! Full speed ahead!" I yelled, and ran even faster, earning a small squeal from the blonde mage.  
"Oh Natsu! You are so dead!" She threatened, but her attempt at sounding threatening was thrown out the window by her wavering voice. I laughed, and she cracked a smile, one that was real this time.

Once we got there, I let go of her hand and stared at her expectantly. She must've laughed at my eager expression, because once she got a look at my face, she burst into fits of giggles. When she was able to calm herself down, she looked at me for a moment, then turned forward determinedly.

"Gates of the Reborn Souls, I open thee. Gate of the Fire Dragon: Igneel!" She shouted, twisting a key into the open air. A flash of gold, a puff of smoke. That was all it took to change my life. All from these drops of magic power from my favorite celestial mage. Before me stood a towering dragon, intimidating, yet its gaze kind. The magic energy rolled off of the figure in waves, an I felt the urge to fight to test the dragon's strength. However, a part of me knew that I could never hope to defeat this seemingly stranger of a dragon, because, with its fiery red scales, his sharp fang like canines, and the blazing fire in his eyes, I knew that this was Igneel. Without a single word spoken, I stepped forward.

"Hi"

"Hey"

Is it really you?"

"I think you know the answer to that, son." I felt something wet slide down my cheek, and I touched it. Looking at my hand, my eyes widened.

"I'm crying." I stated, as if it was a world changing discovery. Igneel chuckled.

"And here I thought you were a grown up." At that remark, I hurriedly wiped away my tears and flashed my biggest grin.

"Ah, there's the boy I know and love!" Igneel roared, and smiled in his fatherly way.  
"I know, dad, I know. Welcome home!" I shouted as I ran into him, hugging his neck. It was warm, hot like a fire, yet not hot enough to burn. I snuggled closer, enjoying this fuzzy feeling that I had in my heart. The tears came back now, though I was completely aware of it, and this time, I did nothing to stop them. He was back, he really was. I didn't know why he left, and I don't think that I ever will know, but what matters most right now is that he's back.  
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to leave, but I had to. Thank you. Thank you for understanding. I'm home." The great dragon said formally, in a tone that i had never heard him use before. However, the words held so much kindness and care that I paid no mind.

"I never said I understood, but I'll try to. I missed you, dad. I missed you a lot." I whispered, knowing fully well that he could hear me. Letting go of his neck, I turned around, only to find Lucy missing. _Weirdo._

Lucy's POV

I hid behind a tree, sniffling. He was back with his father now. I was so happy for him. I looked up, thinking about my own parents. Oh, how I missed them. I managed a small grin at Igneel's hearty roar, and shook my head. Standing up on my own two feet, I started to walk forward, admiring the vegetation and the wildlife. I couldn't be knocked down by something like this. I would be happy, with no regrets, that's what I had promised myself. I added a skip to my step, looking at the green of the trees, and at the rainbows of the flowers. Feeling a slight breeze through the air, I pulled my sweater around me. _Spring, but not quite yet._ However, I felt so happy that I change my mind. _No, nevermind, Spring is here._ I meant that in two ways, and smiled at my language, knowing how I even made my thoughts as story like as possible. My mind drifting to my novel, I felt at peace for the moment. Everything was right.

Natsu was with his dad, finally, after so many years. I had gotten stronger, and I had evolved in my own way. And now, I was going to stand proud with my family like never before, fighting off the challenges as always. Twirling a bit, I put my hands behind me as I started to dance while moving along. Letting my hair down, my hands fingered the breeze, and I listened as the trees rustled. Stopping in front of a rock, I sat down. I still had lots of questions. For example, how would Zeref fit into my story, and what would happen with Kukyo? What lay ahead for me, and how would I be able to use this power? How was Nina doing, and what was Jay thinking? Old friends, new friends, who would I meet along the way? These were all the questions in my head, but as I pondered them, I remembered Natsu's words, those words that probably changed my life forever.

 _Take it one step at a time._

No need to rush things, for I had all the time in the world for now.

 _For now._

I would always be with them, always be their side till the very end.

 _Till the very end._

I wouldn't give up, an I would stand up straight, if for my friends, for even forver.

 _Forever._

But, maybe, just maybe… If I had more time…

 _Just a little more time…_

Maybe I could change things… for the better. I would do anything.

 _Anything._

However, I knew that not everything went as planned.

 _It definitely wasn't as planned._

What was the future like?  
 _The future…_

How long would I be able to keep up this strong front?

 _How long…?_

No matter. Always, I promised everyone, I promised my family, that I would always be there for them. For better or for worse, through ups and downs, I would…..

 _Always be there, watching from afar, if not from up close. If only I had more time, that's what I used to think. It's now that I realize, though, that I always had too much. Nothing went as planned, and I made a sacrifice. Everyone is happy, but now I am left behind. What will become of me? How long until I break? These are all the questions that I have, but for now, and maybe for forever, they will remain unanswered. Somebody, tell me, when will my time run out?  
_ **Sorry for not updating. It's taking longer than usual because I heavily injured my finger! Bai!**


	24. Simplicity

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, all rights go to Hiro Mashima.**

Natsu's POV

Basically jumping on Master, I asked the question that had been bothering me for the past couple of days.

"SO, when does this war thingamabob start?!" I asked excitedly, ready and pumped up for battle after the horribly failed attempt at getting at Kukyo the day preceding.

Master rested his chin in the flat of the palm, striking a thinking pose.

"Well, my boy… I hadn't really thought of that!" master slurred cheerfully, the stench of alcohol rolling off of him. Sweat dropping, I hung my head dejectedly, and went to talk to the first.

Mavis' POV  
I had heard the news of Zeref's proclamation, and, to be honest, I was thoroughly surprised. After all this time, now he decides to show up, and with an awfully vague declaration of war at that… I couldn't help but giggle at his reckless behavior. When Natsu came sauntering up to me, though, he only added to my shock by asking a question that i hadn't even considered.

"Yo, First. Do you know when this whole thing will start? I'm rearing for a fight, here!" The fire mage exclaimed, his fists alight. Thinking for a few minutes, I couldn't come up with a firm answer.

"Well, he was awfully vague in his wording, but if you read between the lines, it would appear as if he would want us to attack first," I said, wracking my brain for answers.

"Well, where are we supposed to do that?!" The boy shouted, exasperated, and this time, I didn't have to hesitate in my answer.

"Well, I would suppose that that would be apart of your 'test'." I replied calmly, watching Natsu's expression as it morphed from determination, to confusion, and then finally burst back into a smirk.

"Well then, we'll just have to show him what we're made of!" I smiled at his antics and sighed as I watched everyone's merriment. Fairy Tail was certainly an interesting place. Being the founder, one would've thought that I'd be used to it by now, yet here I am, constantly being surprised.

Natsu's POV  
A challenge, eh? Hehe, he's definitely underestimating us. All I need to do is sniff him out. Scoffing, I turned my back and looked around the hall, hoping to find Luce, but was interrupted when I felt a tug on my shirt. Looking over my shoulder, I found a disheveled Lisanna.  
"Hey Natsu…" She said slowly, emitting a deadly aura. I shivered.

"H-hi Lis, did you need anything?" I asked nervously, now scared out of my wits at the sadistic gleam in the takeover's eye.

"Well, Dan just rejected me right before pushing me out of the way, and into the river. And since I was in such a bad mood, I thought, why not go shopping? But it turns out that none of my friends wanted to go, so…" Lisanna explained, and I gulped. Whistling innocently, I looked away, hoping to get out of this.

"Oh, would you look at the time, sorry, have to go, Lis!" I shouted, before promptly making a run for the doors, but Lis met me there, and I gulped once again.

"Oh…? Why don't we have _lots_ of fun together, 'kay?" She said cheerfully, and I nodded my head vigorously, cursing under my breath. As she dragged me away, I silently prayed while longingly looked back at the guild, not looking forward to dress up hell.

Lucy's POV

Dazedly swinging my legs back and forth, I didn't even notice when Mira came up to me. When she snapped her fingers in my face, however, I woke up from my trance.

"Oh, hi. What's up?" I said, still a little out of it.

"Better question, what's up with _you?_ Anyways, you might wanna pay a visit to Sabertooth, because rumor has it that Rufus got injured." Mira said, all the while peering worriedly at me. At hearing the horrible news of one of my favorite book buddies, I stood up, before saying my thanks to the barmaid and running out of the guild. _What did you manage to do this time, Sabertooth?_

. . .oOo.

I burst through the guild, surprising many. Minerva stuttered, and Yukino looked surprised. Sting was shocked, and even Rogue held a similar expression. The others just looked plain confused, but I paid no attention to the stares I got as I scanned the room.

"Where is he?!" I said frantically, worried.

"Who?" Sting asked, dumbfounded, and I lost my patience.

"You know who I'm talking about, dimwit! Where's Rufus?" I yelled, out of my character, but I was worried, since it was rare for the said mage to get injured. So injured, in fact, that the news would happen to spread all the way to Fairy Tail. Sting looked taken aback for a second, but then regained his composure, and jabbed his thumb towards the infirmary. Sighing, I ran, but slowed down, not wanting to awaken him if he was sleeping.

Stepping in front of the infirmary door, I gingerly peeked past it, and was relieved to find Rufus conscious. Walking over, he greeted me with a surprised expression.

"Oh, Lucy! What brings you here?" He questioned, but I almost didn't hear him. I was too busy examining all the bandages surrounding and the wires plugged into his body. Snapping my head up, I said in a slightly joking tone,

"Why, you of course." I smiled at him, and he smiled back.

"OH, have you finally come to profess your undying love to me, cherie?" He said mockingly.

"No, just dropping by to see that _you're_ not the one dying." I joked again, and he chuckled.

"Well, I'm always up for the confession, oh, and if you happen to accept, please make it in Shakesperean. You know how much I adore it!" Rufus teased, and I sighed in relief. If he had energy to spare, he should be fine. Still, was worried.

"Anyways, what _happened_?" I gestured to his jacked up state, something that I had never got to see the always-proper Rufus Lohr in.

"Ehehe, well, you see, there was a pillow fight, and Sting got too excited…" Rufus chuckled, and I just gaped at him.

"Just how hard would you have to throw a pillow to get injuries this serious?!" I exclaimed in shock and awe, and Rufus let out another nervous chuckle. Turning on my heel, I went to face Sting, forgetting what seemed to be awkwardness between us. Glaring, I poked him in the chest. He stared at me, not knowing how to respond.

"How childish can you be! And over a pillow fight, at that! Look at what you've done to poor Rufus!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air to emphasize my point.

"Sorry…" He muttered, looking away while blushing madly at everyone in the guild laughing at him

"Shaddup!" He roared, and I giggled a little myself. Going back, I stayed with Rufus for a few hours, chatting with him while getting lost in a thorough conversation about Shakespeare. When I finally checked the clock, though, I had realized that it was already 5 in the afternoon. Waving to Rufus, I walked out of the infirmary.

"Bye everyone, see you later!" I shouted, but then Sting stopped me.

"Hey, about before…" Sting started but I cut him off with a smile.

"Nah, I'm over it! See you later!" I shouted once again, running out of the guild. Running to the train station, I plugged in my ear buds, letting the music overwhelm me. It was a classical rock song, and I was easily energized by the upbeat rythym. Tapping my foot, I blocked out everything else, waiting for the flashing sign that signaled that my train was coming. From then on, though, everything seemed to go in slow motion. I heard my heart beating, I heard the separate footsteps of every single person, and I heard myself breathing steadily. All of a sudden, my vision went into overdrive, and a feeling of longing washed over me. Not thinking, my feet started to move on their own, taking me to somewhere unknown. I didn't know what was happening; I had no control over my own body. Once I had nearly run into a tree, I started to panic. Scanning my thoughts, I tried to stop myself, but to no avail. Concentrating, I remembered the date, and realized where I was going. _To my mate._ Screaming as my head almost bashed into a wall, I tried, oh and I _tried_ , to free myself from the spell that I had been seemingly placed under.

Natsu's POV

I don't know what happened, but one minute I was sitting with Lisanna, and the next, my feet were moving, running. Confused, I looked forward, not sure as to where I was going. _Probably just me being bored_ , I hypothesized, but boy, was I wrong. I had stopped in a forest, and once I did, I tried leaving. However, my feet wouldn't budge this time around, and I slumped against a tree. Sitting down, I couldn't help but feel that I would be waiting here for a while.

Lucy's POV

I had been running for an hour, and I couldn't feel my legs at this point, but they had just kept on running. I saw Magnolia near, and I breathed in relief. Maybe I could get help here. Using all of my willpower, I had almost been able to stop in front of Fairy Tail. _Almost._ I cried once again in despair as I passed the guild in a flourish, my feet leading me to the forest. Oh great, another chance to bash my head into another tree. Clenching my fists and squeezing my eyes shut, I could only feel the wind rushing past me, and could only hear the thudding of my heavy footsteps. I was running so fast, but then I stopped, and opened my eyes too late, realizing that I was falling. Bracing myself for the impact, I looked up when I felt strong arms wrap around my waist. Cracking my eyes opened, I only had my suspicions confirmed.

"Natsu…?" I said, though the patch of salmon was an immediate identifier of my savior.

"Hey, Luce." He said nonchalantly, yet I could also hear a confused undertone in his voice. Realizing that he was still holding me, I started to blush, and this didn't go unnoticed by the highly perceptive slayer.

"Eh? Something the matter?" he asked, his face blank. Fidgeting under his gaze, I breathed out when he noticed what was 'wrong' and immediately let go, a little flustered.

"O-oh, sorry about that…" he said, rubbing the back of his neck, and I cleared my throat awkwardly while adjusting my shirt. My legs were still wobbly from all of the running, though, and I fell into his arms again.

"Woah there, steady!" Natsu shouted, laughing, and I couldn't help but crack a smile.

When I thought everything was normal again, my body did that weird thing again. IT did that thing where it would just move on its own. Lunging for my friend, we fell backwards together, landing in the green grass while Natsu was on top of me, surprised. I blushed at my actions, and tried to apologize, but my voice wouldn't work. So, we just stared at each other like that, flower petals gently dancing in the wind. Gulping, I looked to the side, not understanding what was happening. I mean, I didn't know much about being a dragon slayer, but if this is what I had to go through every mating season, I'd probably die of embarrassment every time. Natsu looked at me, and I finally was able to get a hold of myself, pushing him off of me. Scurrying behind the nearest tree, I snuck glances as he still sat there, looking dazed. When he met my eyes, I blushed and hid behind the tree, away from his intense gaze. I put my hand to my chest, trying to calm my beating heart.

Natsu's POV

When I touched her, I felt electric sparks fly. When I was near her, I smelt her intoxicating scent. And when I was away from her, I would feel a sense of emptiness. I couldn't quite explain it. A bit flustered, I ran my hands through my hair, and turned to look at Lucy, who was timidly hiding behind a tree. _Cute…_

"Arrgh!" I yelled in frustration, tugging at my salmon locks. She looked surprised, and ducked behind the tree again, and I sighed. Standing up and walking over, I held out my hand to her with a grin. She looked back at me confusedly.

"Come, the adventure continues. I don't know what's happening exactly, but all I know for now is that you should stick by my side." I stated the facts, and took her hand without waiting for her response. I felt her staring at my back, and I could sense how flustered she was. Chuckling, I gripped her hand tighter, and she let out a squeal, only adding to her cuteness. I don't know where these thoughts were coming from, but I do know that they were there, and they were probably there for a reason. So, we stayed like that, holding each other's hands while walking quietly through the forest. As I was about to burst into a run, though, I felt a small tug on the bottom of my shirt. Lucy was rooted to the ground, staring wide eyed at something. I followed the trail of her gaze, and watched in amusement as she bent down, eyes sparkling.

She was studying a flower, awed. Gingerly stroking the petals, I distinctly heard her mutter under her breath.

"Wow, this is beautiful…" She continued to caress the petals gently, taking in the vibrant blue-purple color. I looked at the flower, but was more interested in the irl studying it.

"It reminds me of the galaxy…" She whispered, and looked up, her big eyes so innocent, so fascinated. Voicing my thoughts, I turned to her.

"Why not just pick it?" I asked, stating what seemed to be the obvious.

"No! That would be killing it!" Lucy exclaimed, her trance broken.

"Then why not clone it with you magic?" I put forth another opinion, but Lucy didn't respond as vigorously this time. Her expression was replaced by a gentle, childish one, and her eyes regained that sparkle.

"The reason that it's so unique is the thing that makes it beautiful. It would mean nothing to just have a copy."

Shrugging, I got tired of waiting and started walking a little ahead of her, but not far enough for me to worry about her, or to feel lonely. Fingering my scarf, I boredly watched the trees, and the occasional appearance of an animal.

Mira's POV  
I watched as the two dragon slayers walked in, both looking a little dazed, yet neither showing any sign of sporting a blush, nor having any sort of romantic interest. Inwardly sighing, I went back to serving the guild members. Honestly, Natsu couldn't be as dense as to not know what _love_ is, right? But, then again, he is Natsu… My thoughts were interrupted by Fried clearing his throat, and I put on an overly cheery smile.

"Oh, did you need anything?" I asked, though my mind was still wandering in my matchmaking zone. Fried looked at me, his usually calm eyes faltering, before proceeding to answer.

"No, it's just that you seem distracted by something. Care to talk?" He asked in that gentlemanly way of his, and I couldn't help but swoon.

Wanting to vent, I gave him a slight warning before confiding all of my worries to him.

"It's just that… arghgh! Natsu is so dense! And Lucy, I thought that maybe _she_ could do something about this whole situation, but _no!_ And look at where they are, now! They're just two sitting ducks! No romance whatsoever! And now, Zeref just has to waltz in here on his high horse, and this Kukyo bastard is most definitely coming to ruin my romantic schemes!" I whisper shouted so that none of the dragon slayers could hear me. My eyes were gleaming, and I released all of my pent up frustration. Fried, who had looked a little lost, regained his composure, and flashed me one of those rare, though small, smiles, and opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm sure that they'll figure it somehow. I mean, it's not like Natsu to leave something unfinished, is it?" He assured, and I smiled back at him, a real one this time.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I picked up a glass and started wiping it down with my rag. Calming down, I was in a state of peace. After all, you couldn't rush love.

Gajeel's POV  
Grumbling, I walked out of Master's office along with Flame Brain, Air Girl, Lightning Freak, and finally Bunny Girl. Master had sent us to go _sniff_ out Zeref. Cursing under my breath, I reluctantly accepted, knowing that the old man could beat my ass in any time.

"Tch. He's treating us like a bunch of bloodhounds." I retorted, causing Air Girl to whimper in fear at my harsh tone and hide behind Bunny Girl. Flame Brain just scoffed.

"Hah! Nice cover, Iron Head! I bet that you're just incapable of doing the deed!" Flame Brain taunted, and I rolled my eyes at his lunicracy.

"I'm not in the mood today, Salamander." I spat back, and stuffed my hands into my pockets. When we stepped out of the guild, I was about to go running out at full speed, but Bunny Girl stopped us.

"Okay guys, take these ear pieces and these flares. This way, we can contact each other if we spot Zeref." She said calmly, handing everyone the said items.

"Wow, who knew you could be so smart, Blondie?" Lightning Freak mocked, and I let out a chuckle of my own. The blonde ignored the comment by rolling her eyes, and tugging on Wendy's arm.

"Also, I'm taking Wendy with me. She's still only a kid. Anyways, Sayonara!" In the next few moments, she called out this white dragon chick- Grandma, or Granny was it?- and had promptly hopped onto it with Wendy, leaving all the others behind.

I recalled the time she let me meet my dragon, and let me tell you, it was awkward. We greeted each other, talked about fighting for a few minutes, and then he went back. I smirked at the memory. Well, I guess that we were both new to this kind of thing. With that, I began my fast paced run, leaving the others behind in the dust.

Laxus' POV  
Blondie and Gajeel had already left, so it was only Natsu and I remaining. He looked out of it, and was momentarily frozen in surprised, and I shrugged, beginning my leisurely walking pace.

"Damn Gramps, always giving me some work to do…" I shuddered at the thought of that one time where the old man had given me tons of paperwork, and _man,_ that was _not_ fun to do. I put on my sound pods, and drowned everything out in the metal rock playlist I was listening to. Following my nose, I started walking in the same direction that Gajeel and Blondie had taken off in. Well, of course we were going to head to the same place, but still. I fingered the earpiece, bored. As I passed by a bush, I plucked some berried off of it, and popped them into my mouth, not even caring if they would be poisonous or not. Not like that I had the time to worry about that, anyways. Muching on the berries, I burst into a full fledged run, starting to take this whole thing seriously. Maybe Zeref could entertain me a bit… I smirked.

Natsu's POV

When I realized that I had just been staring into space like a fool, I looked around, only to find that everyone else had already left. Immediately getting annoyed, I started running, my fists and feet igniting as I ran with all my might.

"YOU BASTARDS! WAIT UP!" I shouted, ignoring the looks that I got from townspeople as I ran into the forest. However, when I was already what seemed to be halfway through Magnolia, I stopped to think for a moment. Striking a thinking pose, I thought hard.

 _What was I supposed to do again…?_ Laughing to myself, I imagined Lucy scolding me, and invoulintarily shuddered at the thought. However, my mind then zoned in on the thought of Lucy, and I got a great idea. _I'll just follow Luce's scent!_ Having the best idea ever, I turned on my heel and sniffed out the sweet smell of st rawberries and vanilla, my feet leading me to where I needed to go. Thinking of the mage, I imagined what she would say right now. _Good Job?_ No. _Yippee?_ Nah. _Wow, Natsu, you really are the best and most powerful mage that I've ever met! You can probably beat Gray into the ground!_ I smiled. Probably. However, my thoughts were interrupted when her voice, so clear in my head tat I almost thought she was here, rang through my mind.

 _Geez, Natsu. Sometimes, your simplicity is going to be the death of me._


	25. The Adventure Continues

Lucy's POV  
Sighing into the earpiece, I turned it on, alerting all of the others. It was about ten minutes in, and none of us could even smell the dark lord. However, I had realized that we didn't need to, and was now about to tell the others about it.

"What is it, Blondie?" A grumpy voice came in, and I giggled.

"OI! YOU BASTARDS LAEFT ME HERE!" Natsu then roared, who I assumed had finally figured out how to use the earpiece. I cringed at his volume, my heightened senses killing me.

"Keep it down, will you!" Gajeel snapped, and I silently thanked him, because Natsu went quiet on the other end.

"Anyways, I kinda forgot to tell you that I kinda have a way to kinda get us where we need to go without the struggle… So, don't freak out if you happen to look up and see Acnologia!" I said the last part in a rush, and I could feel Wendy's stare bore into my back as I took out the said dragon's key. Standing up, which was risky since we were riding on a dragon and about a thousand miles from the ground, I did my best to keep my balance.

"I summon thee, King of Reborn Souls, Acnologia!" The dragon appeared, and Grandine disappeared while Wendy and I hopped over onto the other dragon.

"Yo, Acnologia, you have this sort of link thangamabob with Zeref, right? In that case, do you think that you can take my friends and I there?" I asked politely, hoping to get a yes from the tired dragon. He muttered profanities under his breath, and immediately took that as an okay. Giving a last minute warning to Wendy, I began teleporting to the others to bring them back with me, and left the shivering girl alone on the great beast.

Wendy's POV  
I called out for Lucy a second too late as she disappeared with a _poof!_ I looked at the almighty dragon, the same beast that had condemned us all to a horrible fate the day of that S class exam. Acnologia… I shivered in fear. How was Lucy able to capture this great dragon? How was she able to conquer any dragon at all? Once again, I shivered, but was startled when I heard a low, unfamiliar, and grumpy voice speak.

"Stop shivering Shrimp, it's annoying." The dragon spoke, yet it held some sort of feeling behind it… Kindness? Definitely not. Concern? Nope, that wasn't it, either… Nostalgia? Wendy shook her head, and stopped shivering. Maybe she would be able to trust the dragon a little more. That is, of course, if Lucy had been able to tame him.

Lucy's POV  
I wiped off a little sweat off of my forehead. I had to travel through the celestial world to teleport, and because of the time lapse, I had to be quick. Also, not to mention the fact that I had to make 6 trips in total. I had finally picked up Natsu, and now, it was time for the sixth trip back to Acnologia, who had, quite considerately, slowed down for the sake of my magic. Smiling to myself, I summoned up my magical energy, and before we knew it, we were all on the back of the dragon. I heard Acnologia groan over the amazed exclamations of the others, and crawled up to his neck.

"Hehe, sorry, is this too heavy for you?" I asked out of concern.

"No, it's just that I have more imbeciles to deal with." He answered bluntly, once again letting a groan escape his lips. I grinned, and looked over my shoulder at the others. They were all staring at the electric blue scale patterns with interest, and I immediately went to the thought that they've never ridden a dragon before. I almost acted shocked before I snapped back to reality. Rolling my eyes, I wondered if I was officially nuts. _Of course they've never ridden a dragon before…_ I slowly closed my eyes, and laid down on my back, wanting to get some sleep in. It was already evening, and we would most likely be using lots of magic early in the morning. Shooting one last glance towards the now bickering bunch, which had now, surprisingly, included Wendy, I shot them one, last unnoticeable smile, and let my mind drift into the space of sleep.

Natsu's POV  
I heard Lucy's breathing become even as she closed her eyes, and I glanced her way. Golden hair splayed over black and electric blue scales. A fragile, girlish body, yet holding so much power. Relaxed expression, with clenched fists. She had become very interesting. But, no matter how much she changed, she is, and will always be the same old Luce that I know. My eyes then trailed down to the dragon that I was seated upon. Good to know that dragons didn't count as vehicles. I had never ridden a dragon before, and to be honest, it felt great; the way the wind flowed through my hair, the exhilarating thrill of being beyond even the clouds themselves. I guess that the sky wasn't the limit, after all. I grinned mischievously, already scheming something in my head.

Lucy's POV

I yawned, and looked around as my eyes fluttered open. I tried to get up, but felt something weighing me down. Looking at my body, I found two muscular arms wrapped around my waist, and my eyes followed them to their owner, Natsu Dragneel. I had gotten used to him sleeping with me like this, and with the wind going strong, I appreciated his warmth, and turned around to face him. He looked so peaceful while he was asleep… he looked kind of cute. Blushing at this thought, I gingerly took a lock of his hair, twirling it around in my fingers as I stared at his face. He was wearing a soft smile, and I could just imagine how his onyx eyes would sparkle whenever he got excited, along with that boyish grin of his… I smiled to myself, but failed to notice that my face had gotten considerably closer. Our lips were an inch apart.

Without thinking, I moved forward, and softly pressed my lips against his. It lasted for only a second, but I felt like it was the perfect first kiss.. first kiss.. first kiss…

FIRST KISS?!  
Jerking my head back, I stared at him once again, wide eyed. I slapped myself, wanting to wake up from this crazy dream. _I'm NOT a pervert!_ I didn't wake up, though, and sighed. At least, he wouldn' know about this, right? Looking away, I buried my face in the crook of his neck, hiding my flushed expression from the world. Thankfully, I was able to drift into sleep again, being able to escape this crazy reality, if not only for a few hours.

Natsu's POV

I woke up to Lucy nuzzling into my neck. To say that I was shocked was an understatement. Luce was _always_ the one who woke up first. But now, here I was, staring at Lucy's sleeping face like some creep. I couldn't help the grin that slowly creeped onto my face, and I studied her content features. Was it true, what Igneel had said?  
 _FLASHBACK  
"I know that i haven't been able to tell you much about it, but she's your mate. You should know what that means by now, and if you don't, you'll have to find out by yourself. I can't help young love." The dragon grinned, and I stared on, confused. _

_"Mate…?" With that one, unanswered question, Igneel disappeared, leaving me alone to ponder what he meant. I remembered him telling me something about a mate, like how you were supre protective or something like that…_

 _Sitting down, I messed up my hair with both hands, giving up. Lying down on my back, I closed my eyes. Man, I was tired. Mate, huh? I guess I wouldn't mind strawberries and vanilla…_

 _FLASHBACK END  
_ Leaning in, I planted my lips on hers before jerking back when I felt her stir. I smiled even wider. Igneel told me to do this to the one you 'love'. I was guessing that love was when you were overprotective of someone, and when you always wanted to stick by them. Well, that's how I felt around Lucy, anyways.

"First kiss…"

Lucy's POV

When I felt him pull back, I fought hard to keep back the threatening blush which was willing itself to escape.

"Second kiss…"

Natsu's POV  
When I woke up again, Lucy was gone, but everyone else seemed to still be sleeping, based on what I was hearing. Getting up, I looked at the sky. IT was still dark, but I saw a little light peeking over some clouds. My eyes scanning over the area of the dragon, I then realized that there was another dragon present, and this one happened to be someone I've never heard of before.

Lucy's POV

I sat on Chronis', the dragon of time, back, watching as the sky rolled past. Everyone else stayed on Acnologia, and I was beginning to regret waking up so early. It wasn't even dawn, for Mavis' sake, yet here I was, deciding to all of a sudden go cloud watching. Running my hand through my blonde locks, I absentmindedly stroked Chronis' crème scales, and my gaze dropped down to the other dragon. Whispering, I asked Acnologia a question.

"Aren't you tired?"

"Who do you think I am, child?"

"A magical being that can run out of magical energy"

"Hah, don't underestimate me."

I smiled at the dragon, only to notice that Natsu had woken up, and was staring at me. Motioning for him to join me, he carefully jumped over, meeting me with a questioning gaze, but he didn't say anything.

"You're up early." I remarked, but Natsu quietly scoffed.

"You're one to talk, you know?" He replied, watching as a part of the sun revealed itself.

"Yeah, whatever…" I looked to the side at him, watching his profile, but looked away and blushed when I remembered what I did.

"I can't believe I kissed him in his sleep… Am I pervert?" unknowingly, I whispered my thoughts aloud, and this seemed to spark something within the other dragon slayer. He covered his mouth with his hand, but I swore I saw a small smirk play on his lips when he removed his hand. Ignoring it, I reached into the little backpack that I was wearing, and pulled out two granola bars. Taking one for myself, I lit the other one on fire, and tossed it to Natsu before I could get burned, and, as usual, he inhaled the thing without chewing it. I unwrapped mine carefully, and took a small bite, chewing thoughtfully. Swallowing, I turned to him once again

"So, how are we going to do this?"

Natsu smirked.

Acnologia's POV

It's been a day since I've been summoned, but Lucy insisted that I take a break. And so, here I was, in the spirit world while all the dragons basically judged me with their eyes.

"What?" I spat out, annoyed, but only received more stares.

"Tch." Igneel looked away, and I raised a questioning brow at him, seeing that he was quiet today.

Mizuki pouted, and looked at me with his ocean blue eyes. We were all in our human forms, to prevent chaos from ensuing in the spirit world.

"Princess has kept your gate our longer than any of us." Mizuki explained, smoothing his raven hair with his hand. Rolling my eyes, I groaned as I watched the humans through a window between the worlds.

"Whatever." I said, not thinking about the true meaning behind the words.

"She's gotten stronger." I heard Igneel say, almost thoughtfully, and I did a double take. Before I could question them, I got the answer myself. I was the strongest of the Reborn Souls, and she's been able to keep me out for a little more than a day without a hassle. I stopped myself from gaping as I turned back to the window, now watching the blonde mage talk to someone else with interest. I momentarily smirked, and mentally noted this. _Impressive…_

Lucy's POV

The sun was up now, but it was still pretty early, around & o clock, I would estimate. I had been talking for hours on end with Natsu about random things. Smiling, I leaned my head back, letting out a soft yawn. I missed talking to him like this. H always managed to cheer me up somehow.

"Hey Luce, how do you think I'll be able to beat Zeref's butt?" Natsu asked, grinning, his fists aflame. We landed on an island, but now I was concerned that Natsu was going to end up burning down everything. I just ignored it, though, and watched as the sun rose higher.

"It's a team effort, remember?" I asked, rolling my eyes a bit at his antics.

"Yeah, whatever. You're my only partner on this team anyway, but I guess I can handle Wendy." He replied, glancing at the said mage thoughtfully. I looked at my toes as my legs were stretched out in front of me, and felt the blush creep onto my cheeks.

I formed some ice, and quickly pressed it against my face, wanting to cool myself down.

"By the way Luce, when did you get so strong?" he asked, oblivious, and my eyes turned downcast for a moment before I regained my composure.

"When you went on that really long mission. I had trained for 3 months, but time was frozen, so in reality, I trained for a couple of years. I also met some new people…" I looked to the side, not feeling comfortable with topic anymore, seeing as it brought back bad memories. Natsu also seemed to feel the same way, because he all of a sudden went quiet.  
"I should go get some food. Stay here and watch the camp." I suggested, and got up, leaving Natsu without looking back. When I heard nothing in response, I ducked behind the nearest tree once I was sure he couldn't see me. I held my chest, and close my eyes, taking in a deep breath.

"It's fine, it's fine. It's fine if you love him, it's fine if he doesn't love you back." My voice hitched at the last part, and I looked down in defeat. I started to walk again, occasionally picking berries and vegetables as I went along, making sure that they were edible. Of course, I could create a vegetarian meal with my elemental card magic, but the dragon slayers would obviously want meat. I shuddered, knowing that I hadn't thought this through. I stiffened even more once I saw a deer hop into the clearing I was in, staring at me in interest. I choked back a sob.

Slowly, I raised my finger at the animal, forming a gun like shape. The deer didn't move, and continued to stare at me. I felt energy form at my fingertip, and it started to glow subtly, but not enough to alert it. My breathing was ragged as I realized what I was about to do. I slowly closed my eyes as I did before, but this time, I wasn't able to breathe, and was intaking sharp breaths, not helping my anxiety much. The deer started to circle me, prancing around as if in a dance of sorts. Then, I stopped directly in front of me, and with my other hand, I stroked its head. It was so soft, so fragile, so helpless. Immediately, I pulled my hand back, shaking my head. Touching Virgo's key, I mentally told her to prepare a meal. I looked at the deer sadly. I was able to kill Aleci, though sadly, but now, I was back to my old self. Natsu gave me a soft spot in my hear, I suppose…

I stroked its head once again, softly smiling this time.

"I guess I'm still weak in some ways." I whispered to myself.

TIME SKIP  
I sat down cross legged, bored. It was probably eight in the morning, and I had returned to see Natsu dead asleep again. I eyed everyone wearily, wondering how they could sleep so much. Playing with my now loose hair, I eyed the ground. I was being awfully counterproductive. Standing up with newfound vigor in my step, I brushed two of my keys, and Loke and Capricorn appeared before me.

Seeing that everyone was asleep, I quickly teleported us elsewhere, and Loke pounced on me while Capricorn bowed.

"Lucy~! You haven't called me out in ages!" the lion whined, and I giggled, returning the hug in a rare occasion.

"Didn't you say that last time?" I pointed out, and he stuck his bottom lip out in denial. I looked to Capricorn with a nod, and he returned the gesture.

"So, care to help me with some hand to hand combat?" They smirked.

Natsu's POV  
I woke up to someone shaking me awake, only to see that I wasn't being shaken, but rather smashed into the ground by a very annoyed Gajeel. Glaring up at him, I held back the urge to punch him.

"Finally, the idiot's awake!" He yelled to Laxus, who nodded whle rubbing his eyes sleepily. Wendy yawned, and I mimicked her. Looking around, I realized that Lucy wasn't here.

"Where's Lucy?" I asked, confused, concern lacing my voice.

"I don't know, we just woke up and she was gone. I smell her, though, so she's nearby. Let's go get her so she can get that fat ass dragon up and going." Laxus replied, while I saw Wendy cover her ears, probably expecting the foul language from him. I smirked, and Laxus looked un-phased while Gajeel was plain amused. Jumping up to my feet, we followed her all too familiar scent to a clearing, where we saw her, jumping all over the place. We heard two other voices, and I immediately recognized them as her spirits. The others did, too, and we watched with curiosity. They were punching, kicking, and using any means necessary to try and land a hit on her, but she was dodging all of the attacks with ease.

She held her hands out in front of her, and seemingly grinned before forming an orb of magic.

"HOLY JUDGEMENT!" She yelled, and a bright, white beam shot out of her hands, forcing the two spirits back into their world, but not before they could give her a nod of approval. Once she was done, she started to heal the destroyed plants, and then stretched out.

She seemed to spot us, because she smiled and waved.

"Hey guys, ready to go for another round today?" She asked cheerfully, and we stood in a line, all of us either grinning or smirking.

"You know it, Blondie."

"Gihi"

"Let's do this!"

"I'm all fired up!"

She laughed at our responses, and pulled out her key in one swift motion, summoning the great dragon, the same dragon that almost killed us, yet is working with us, now.

"What are you waiting for?" She looked at us expectantly as she climbed onto its back, still smiling, yet I spotted a sense of excitement in her gleaming eyes.

"The adventure continues!"

 **I'm sorry for not updating. As i said before, i had a severe injury on my finger, in which I'm pretty sure my nail's going to fall off and I'll to take an x-ray, and on top of that, i just got sick. Not to mention, Friday was my birthday, that week i had testing, and on Saturday i had full day lessons while on Sunday i went to mu Uncle's to celebrate Easter. Anyways, I'm super sorry, I'll try to keep up with my schedule. Thank you for being so patient with me.**


	26. Fate Has a Twisted Sense of Humor

Natsu's POV

I glanced around at everyone, playing with my fire boredly. Laxus was ignoring everyone with his sound pods on, Gajeel was busy molding something with his iron, and Wendy was talking excitedly about something with Lucy, who was looking at her fondly. My eyes trailing back to my hands, I started to form figures, wondering how much control I had with my fire. I was able to form words easily, as I had done with Sting and Rogue during the GMG's, beckoning them by spelling 'Come on' in flames. I smirked at the memory of beating the two, but it turned to a smile as I realized that they were now important nakama.

My thoughts returning to my previous challenge, I began to form the first thing that came to mind: A dragon. Soon enough, a rough, simple, yet beautiful dragon of fire was created, and I grinned proudly. Throwing a rock at Gajeel and getting his attention, I smirked.

"Oi, look at this, Metal Head! Ain't I awesome?" I boasted prudly, showing off my dragon.

Gajeel raised and eyebrow before rolling his eyes, seemingly exasperated.

"Idiot, I can do that, too." With that, he had created a beautifully detailed and exquisite dragon made out of iron in mere seconds, and I was left there, gaping. He went back to whatever he was molding, and it was my turn to raise an eyebrow at this.

"If you can do something like that in a second, then what're you doing that's got you so hung up for hours?" I voiced my questions allowed, though the slight blush that momentarily painted his cheeks didn't go unnoticed by me. As my smirk grew bigger, I slowly scooted closer, and once I was in range, started to continuously nudge Gajeel's head with my foot. This continued for about five minutes before he snapped.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you! Moron…." He muttered that last part, bu being the dragon slayer that I was, I heard him, and punched him in the face, only to revieve a returning one from the other.

"So…?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows.

"I was making something for Levy…" Now, he REALLY said that lsat part softly, because I almost didn't catch that. But, not being that experienced in this love talk, and shuddering at the mere thought of actually _having_ to initiate love talk with _Gajeel,_ I quickly added this information to my blackmail box, and scooted back, flopping back onto my back again. My eyes boredly trailed the clear sky, wantng at least a little attention from anyone. And there was _no_ way that I was going to interrupt Laxus or butt into some weird girl talk. As I was thinking about how much longer this whole thing was going to take, Acnologia suddenly stopped, and sudden speed change made me fly forward, face planting onto his hard scales. Looking up, annoyed, I was about ready to pick a fight with the great beast.

"Oi! What the hell was that for, idiot?!" I shouted, and saw that the others had suffered the same fate as I, though less dire.

The dragon's head turned around to look at me, his eyes portraying no emotion. Whatever, you morons, get off my back, he's here." He said, and my annoyance was soon forgotten a I leaped up to my feet, already taking on a battle stance.

"Hell yeah! Finally, it took you forever, old man!" Maybe that wasn't the best idea, because I was promptly thrown off of his back no more than a second later. I groaned again, and rolled my eyes, deciding that it was best to just focus my attention around me.

Lucy's POV  
Silently sending a message to Acnologia to give a warning beforehand, the said dragon let Wendy and I carefully get off beforing disappearing under the other boys, leaving them dropping from about ten feet in the air onto the jagged rocks of Tenroujima. I raised my eyebrow at our location, though, and looked around.

There didn't seem to be any traps, and everything looked like it was the last time I came here, which was quite a while ago. Biting on my thumb nail, I racked my brain for an explanation.

 _Why would he stay in the same place if he knew we were coming? He seems like the type to fool with people, so I would expect him to move around, or ambush us along the way…_ My eyes trailed over the surrounding area, and I was only then that I caught a flash of midnight black with a contrasting white. Instead of exclaiming victory, I stepped cautiously forward, sensing that something was off. Ignoring the calls and questionings from the rest of the group, I only walked even further, only to have to cover my mouth at the sight before me.

Zeref lay there, bleeding from his head and multiple other places, tied up and propped carelessly against a tree. _How…? He's the most powerful wizard in existence._ Not caring about who he was, or about our differences, I ran to him, examining him. The leaves behind us rustled, and the others stood there, staring at us. I didn't care, though. There was blood. It was everywhere. I almost threw up, but I held him softly.

"Oh my god…" At this slight whisper, though, his eyes cracked open, and he stared at my tear filled state in confusion. Lifting his head up slightly, he looked even more confused.

"Huh? Faries…? What are you doing here?" He sounded genuinely confused, and it was our turn to b confused at his reaction.

"What…? You were the one who declared war on us." I explained, seeing that the others were staying quiet, probably due to the shock.

"Why would I do that?" With that, he pried my fingers off of him, and sat up. In a split second, the ropes disappeared, and his pale skin lost all of the scars that had previously covered him. He peered at me, alarmed, now.

"Why aren't you dead?" Now that he was not practically half dead, I sighed, and sat on the grass, my heart beat calming down.

Showing him my hands, I let my aura be slightly visible, the barrier magic that I casted now being shown.

"Barrier magic. It's a dragon type, that's why I didn't break down." I said, eyeing him.

"Anyways, what happened? Aren't you supposed to be the Dark Lord?" I added abit of sarcasm in my tone, and the mage rolled his eyes. I looked behind me. The others were still there, not saying anything.

"I kind of froze time…" Zeref admitted sheepishly, and I nodded, realizing that that was the reason everyone was so quiet. Well, less distractions. I turned my attention back to him, now having a guard up.

"Answer my question."  
"Geez, you're all cuddly-cuddly one second, and the next, you look ready to pull a knife out on me." He said defensively, stretching out his neck with a cringe worthy 'pop!". Seeing my annoyed glare, he sighed.

"All right, all I know was that I was sleeping, and then I woke up, and this dude with some really weird tattoo had come up on me and straight up wacked me with something really heavy. I guess I passed out, because I woke up again, and he had me tied up here, and I was stranded. He came back, but I was sooo tired, and I fell asleep _again._ After that, I woke up with you guys here, and I was apparently really bloody. I guess the punk took advantage of the situation." He explained, clicking his tongue at the end. I was too busy to notice, though, because I immediately knew who the man with the tattoo was. Frantically, I called out Sylvia.

"Sylvia, take everyone back to the guild safely, I can trust you. Tell them that you're one of my spirits, and quickly make something up for me. I have no time to explain, just take everyone, now!" I yelled out the orders, using wind magic to prop my still frozen companions onto her back.

Once they were out of my sight, I turned back to a puzzled Zeref.

"Can you let time flow again?" I asked politely, but with my guard still up.

He snapped his fingers, not bothering to reply, and I heard a distressed, faint shout, and I smiled a little, knowing who it was.

"What? My little brother gets the special treatment and I don't?" He asked, and I looked at him, silent, my smile gone, and my mood now somber.

He looked back, and I stared at my feet, fists clenched. I would have to fight that monster again…but would I be able to win? Of course not, that was the answer. So why was I sacrificing myself?

"I need to go." I said, my head raised, but my bangs shadowing over my eyes. He said nothing, and I started to walk. It seemed as if the moment I realized what was wrong, I could sense him. He was laughing at me, he was mocking me. Facing east, I took one step, one step closer to what was sure to be my doom. It wasn't like me to be so pessimistic, so why was I like this? I felt limp, all my previous energy gone.

Taking a deep breath, I stared into the vegetation. Sure enough, a figure stepped out, both of us completely oblivious to a Zeref hiding behind a tree, eavesdropping.

"Well, look at what we have here. Never thought you'd find me here; I'm impressed."

"I'm able to easily detect scum against the sacred land of my First Master." I shot back, disgusted that he would even dare lay a finger on Tenrou island.

"Oho, sassy now, are we? Not like you can defeat me." He said smugly, and I secretly knew he was correct, at least not without that crystal.

"That won't stop me from trying!" I shouted as I rushed forward, fist raised.

"Star dress: Leo! Regulus Impact!" My hand glowed, a bright light absorbing it. Light that would defeat the darkness.

"Power Fusion: Elemental Aspect: Purity!" The light grew brighter, and when it made contact with Kukyo, a very painful, yet satisfying sizzle was heard. I heard him growl as he jumped back from me, cursing.

I searched his body quickly, looking for any sort of weakness, lead, anything that would help me get at least a tiny advantage in this battle. Before I could do anything, an image flashed in my mind, motivating me.

 _What if… just what if… his crystal was still broken!_ I smiled to myself, using this message as a sense of relief, knowing that there was no guarantee, yet this being one of my only hopes here. With newfound strength, I ignored the pain as Kukyo delivered a blow to my ribs, and stood back up.

Pulling out a key, I called the dragon forth with determination, knowing that I could handle him, even with Sylvia out.

"Gate of the Tortured Souls: Dame!" My strongest dragon appeared at my side, and I smirked as I saw Kukyo silently gulp.

Dame quickly got to work, slashing and roaring side by side with me, while I also worked around with my whip and knives.

My eyes were constantly darting everywhere, hoping to get some sort of weakness from him. When I felt the magical tug on my energy, I called back Dame, who had successfully hit Kukyo multiple times, where the latter was panting heavily. I looked at him, and then my eyes stopped at his neck. A necklace. A lacrima. That was it. The only thing, even if I didn't make sense at the moment, that would help me here. I ran forward, my fingers pinpointing the precise location, my magical energy centered and aiming for that necklace.

He didn't sense my intentions, so I let a smile break out on my face when the small, crystal like lacrima burst into a thousand pieces. He saw this, and he was visibly panicking.

"I have a lead now, so how are you going to defeat me, now?!" I yelled in determination, mocking him. HE snapped back to reality, angered.

"You fool…!" We both ran forward, our fists clashing. I didn't give up, but our power was evenly matched. I gritted my teeth, pushing all of my power into my hand, only to fly backwards. I closed my eyes, bracing myself for the impact, but I only felt two large, warm hands steadying me. Looking up, I watched as Zeref didn't spare me a glance as he put his hand out in front of him. A black orb shout out at Kukyo, but he dodged. Zeref turned to me, and started some incantation, but it was only until he was halfway through it that I realized he was going to teleport me.

"No! Don't! This is my only chance…!" I yelled out, pleading the great wizard, but he only silenced me with an ice cold glare, emitting an aura that I expected him to be equipped with when I first met him.

"It's useless. You already have a dragon out, fight when you're at full power." He said, his voice steely. Before I could protest even further, I was teleported to the others, who were now staring at me. They were yelling at me, questioning me, but it was all muted. I pulled my hair in frustration and clenched my jaw. I lost. I lost the one chance that I had. Why, why did this have to happen every time?! Why did fate always have to push me away?! What am I supposed to do?!  
I was angry. I was angry at myself, for not being able to do anything. I was angry at Kukyo, whose baseless self confidence always seemed to taunt me. I was mad at Zeref, who had good intentions, but took away my only chance, the one time where I found Kukyo's weakness. Most of all, I was mad at the world. Fate had a twisted sense of humor, didn't it? I let out a small laugh at this.

Natsu's POV

I froze when I heard that laugh. It wasn't her usual, cheerful one that could light up a room. No, it was something much darker than that. She sounded so hopeless, so desperate, yet, beneath all of that, she sounded so defeated. She sounded like she could just crumble before my eyes at any second. So, I went up to her, and hugged her tightly. I don't know what happened, but when we were off of the island, and she was gone, I was worried. But now, when she suddenly appeared in front of us again, I was scared. I was scared that there was something much bigger than us, a challenge that would show no mercy. It was a scam, and we were fooled so easily. I that was the case, how would we be able to defeat this enemy. I looked down when I heard her whisper out one, last cruel line before she erupted into sobs.

"Fate… it's not fair…" My eyes narrowed at this, knowing that something bad definitely happened. Lucy was strong, but if something could make her fall so easily, if something could make her break so suddenly, then this something was going to pay. Nobody was going to hurt my best friend and get out alive.

"I'll turn fate into a pile of ashes…"

Sylvia's POV

I could hear the boy's thoughts, saying that he wouldn't let anyone hurt Lucy, saying that he would protect her. My mouth set into a firm line, I looked ahead.

 _Boy, I don't think you have the right to say that. You've already hurt her more than you know. And besides, Fate is not a very cooperative being. I can already see the future, and this is Lucy's fight. You want to protect her, yet in the end, she'll be the one protecting you. I agree with you, my child. Fate has a twisted sense of humor._

 **Sorry that it's short, and that I haven't been updated. I've decided that I'm putting this story on hold until after the State Tests, and that after them, I'll upload once a week, so that I'm not rushed and I can focus more on the quality and quantity of the chapters I'm uploading. Once again, I'm really sorry, but I have so much going on. Don't worry, I don't plan on abandoning this story! I'll carry through until the very end!**

 **~FatedGateway**


	27. A Beckoning from Heaven

Lucy's POV  
Clench. Unclench. Breathe in. Breathe out. That was the same routine I followed every day. Every single day, I would think of what I did wrong, of what I could do better. What could I do better? I was only one person, this is what I thought, yet here I am, still running after an ambiguous goal as only one person. Slowly opening my eyes, I stared at the pink of my ceiling blankly. The sunlight filtered through as the curtains rustled slightly, blown by the wind. My blank eyes trailed to my side. The familiar mess of salmon hair greeted me, the smell of smoke and burning wood filling my nostrils. Breathe in, breathe out. The warm scent overflooded me, and I was tempted to just snuggle back into the covers, go back to sleep, and forget all of my problems, forget all of my worries. That wouldn't work, though. Closing my eyes for a few seconds, I savored the comfortable warmth surrounding me, before I sat up. Carefully unwrapping myself from the sleeping slayer, I rose to my full height, looking at my feet.

Rolling out my shoulders, I felt like I was walking in my sleep as I made my way to the bathroom. Slowly, I looked up and at the mirror, staring at my reflection, though not caring what it looked like. Splashing my face with some cold water, I shuddered as I wiped off with a towel. My eyes warily trailed over my makeup shelf, and I hastily grabbed some concealer. My bags were horrible, so I quickly dabbed some of the makeup on, making sure it didn't smear. Once I was done, I applied some chapstick. Walking out of the bathroom, I didn't bother to tie up my hair as I changed. Natsu was asleep, so it wouldn't matter anyway, right? I was just so tired… I didn't care anymore. Maybe I would go visit Sabertooth.

A million muted thoughts buzzed through my head as I changed. Flipping my hair back, I took a quill and a piece of paper.

 _Dear Natsu,_

 _I've gone to visit Sabertooth. I'll be back by dinner._

That was enough. Setting the ink and quill down, I place the note on the kitchen table, next to some of the matches I always had on hand whenever Natsu wanted a snack. Pulling on a sweater and some heeled boots, I walked out the door, my boots clicking against the hard floor.

Once I got outside, I teleported to the other guild, not bothering to take the long way. I really needed to clear my head, so some chatting couldn't hurt, right? I was bout to go in, but then remembered the time. It was only 7 am, so nobody would be here, right? Sighing and dropping my hand, I looked around. There had to be a café around where I could get breakfast, so, without a second thought, I tiredly walked along the cobblestone pavement, not caring where I ended up, to be honest. I felt lifeless, and I swayed back and forth as I walked. Holding my head in my hands, but not stopping, I stumbled into a small shop, and wordlessly ordered an iced coffee.

Once the dark, cool liquid entered my mouth, I felt a bit more energized. Placing my money on the counter, I readjusted the grip I had on my cup, and started to walk back out, my heels still clicking along the way. Combing my fingers through my hair, I checked my watch. Only about ten minutes had passed, but I didn't really care. Tiredly, I gingerly pushed open the guild doors, welcoming myself in.

Natsu's POV  
I woke up to the absence of a certain blonde. I looked down. This had been happening a lot, and this was the third time in a row that I would wake up to an empty, cold bed. She would usually leave a note or something, but I couldn't help but feel that I could do something more for her that I wasn't. Discouraged, I got up, and searched the room for the note that would surely be awaiting me. Finding the white against the wooden kitchen table, I read the black script from where I was, and raised my eyebrow. Why would she go to Sabertooth? Walking closer, I lit a few matches and stuffed them in my mouth, then washed my face and promptly jumped out the window, not bothering to close it behind me. Now that it was mentioned, I haven't seen in Sting in a while… I smirked.

Lucy's POV

Walking in, I expected a completely deserted guild hall, but my eyes were only met with Sting's group, all of which happened to _not_ be morning people. We stared quizzically at each other for a few seconds, and I grinned a bit, wanting to break the silence.

"I thought I would drop by, but maybe this isn't the best time…?" I said it as more of a question, seeing that they were all huddled together and probably talking about something important. Nobody said anything, not even Minerva or Yukino, who usually greeted me with cheery hugs and greetings. My hopes plummeting, I took a step back.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you guys around…" I said with a halfhearted smile. I turned on my heel, and started to walk out, but then Minerva's surprised voice stopped me.

"No, it's fine! We were just not able to sleep because we kind of had hangovers, and we thought you were kind of an… illusion? I don't know, honestly, my head's spinning." Minerva said, laughing a bit while holding her head. I smiled at her, though it didn't reach my eyes. Brushing against Virgo's key, a bottle of pills magically appeared in front of me. I tossed it to her, which she easily caught.

"Huh…?"

"Take it for the headaches, it seems like you guys need some rest, so I don't want to rant when you're in this state. See you guys later." I said, my smile now soft, but real. Before they could say anything in response, I walked out of the guild, the doors closing behind me. I sipped some of my coffee again, savoring the taste. Raising my head, I pinched my cheek with my free hand.

"This is no time to be depressed… I'll need to try my best from now on. I should go train…" My sentence was interrupted by a ball of fire hurtling towards me. Panicking, my brain momentarily shut down, and I threw out all common sense as I hurriedly shot a ray of holy magic at the fire, almost dropping my cup in the process. The fire was extinguished, and left a very charred Natsu. Face palming, I rushed over, scolding myself for not thinking clearly and just dodging like a normal person. Kneeling so that I was somewhat at eye level at him, I couldn't help but giggle as he dizzily swayed, his hair pointing up in different directions. I poked him in the forehead, and he seemed to come back to reality as he blinked, and stared at me. All of a sudden, he jumped up, grinning, and pointing at me.

"Woah! That was awesome, Luce!" I looked at him for a second, before bursting out into laughter. My previous stress seemed to be relieved, as I just laughed at the silliness of my best friend.

I guess this is why best friends exist, to cheer you up, huh? I looked at him, my eyes glimmering. Maybe I was in love after all, I mean, there was nothing wrong with that, right?

"You're really clueless sometimes, Natsu." I said as I ruffled his hair playfully, and he shot me his signature grin. I was depressed before, but he can just calmly waltz in and make me laugh my gut out.

Natsu's POV  
"You're really clueless sometimes, Natsu." She said as she ruffled my hair playfully. I flashed her my grin, glad she was smiling, yet a little sad on the inside. She was always calling me dense, but even I could sense her stress. Instead of worrying her with a frown, though, I smiled even brighter, making her giggle again.

"We should probably get you washed up." She said, and I was confused for a moment, before looking down and realizing that all of my clothes were charred.

"AHHH! I'LL BE LIKE THAT ICE PERVERT!" I screamed in absolute horror as my vest practically crumbled off of me. She smiled at me again, her giggles subsiding.

In a couple of seconds, we were back at her place, and I raised an eyebrow her way. She shrugged, and I guess that she used her teleportation.

Walking over to the extra closet that she had in case Gray and I slept over, she fished around my side of the closet and pulled out an outfit and a towel, throwing both at me. I caught them, and nearly dropped the men's shampoo that she threw not a second later. Hands full, she pushed me towards the bathroom.

"Take a shower, you're completely charred and black and… ew." She said bluntly, and I heard her erupt into another fit of laughter.

"Haha, real funny, Luce. Geez, you're so weird sometimes." I said while rolling my eyes at my friend's behavior.

Lucy's POV

I smiled a bit as I walked to my bed and flopped back down onto it. I took a deep breath as I remember what Natsu once said to me. _What was it? Ah, that's right, take it one step at a time…_ The memory fulfilled my confidence, and I shook my head. Why was I so down so before? If I had a problem, no matter how frustrating, I would handle it the Fairy Tail way. I would charge forwards without regrets, and keep getting up after every fall. I couldn't let myself break right now, but I feel as if fate was trying to postpone something, trying to tell me something. Looking down, I studied my bandaged hands. Slowly, I started to unwrap the wounds I got from all the fighting I had been doing recently. The wounds looked pretty nasty, but I didn't flinch, or look away. Instead, I threw out the bandages, and stared at my once fair hands. This should be proof enough; these battle scars should be enough to show how much I've grown. Reaching over to get some ointment, I dabbed the cool medicine on my heated scars, and re bandaged the wounds with the first aid kit I kept at my bedside. Clenching my fists, I winced, but smiled bitterly at the pain.

My bitter smile grew into a brighter one, and I held my clenched fist to my chest, determination blazing off of me. I wouldn't lose heart, I wouldn't be the crybaby princess I once was. Now, with everyone supporting me- My thoughts were interrupted, though, once Natsu walked in half naked. My eyes widening, I didn't realize a part of me fondly smiled as I screamed the next few words:  
"NATSU! PUT ON SOME CLOTHES!" Yup, he was the same, old, clumsy Natsu who brought me to Fairy Tail. As I slammed the door behind him, I breathed out.

Eyeing the lukewarm cup of coffee at my bedside table, the ice melted, I walked over to it, and quickly dumped the contents out in the sink. Trashing the plastic, I sat on my bed, facing the open windows. The wind lightly caressed my cheek, my hair flowing. I stared as the townspeople walked by underneath the windowsill, the cherry blossoms floating through the air. I looked back as Natsu grumpily came back out, fully clothed this time. Smiling, I caught him off guard and he took a small step back. I barely noticed, though, as he replied with a peace sign, a grin, and the usually dark, yet fiery pair of eyes he always wore. Then, of course, there were those few words:

"Let's go to the guild!" With that, intertwined hands, and a running start, we basically flew out of the window as Natsu started to carry me across town at full speed. I wanted to resist as usual, but couldn't help the laugh bubbling up inside of me. Wrapping my arms around his neck, enjoying the breeze that passed us by as we flew to the guild, I smiled the smile I once wore. My broken eyes full of hope, my white teeth glinting against the sun as I remembered everything that I've been through, and knowing that I had more to go through, and that I couldn't give up just yet.

Natsu's POV

She felt light in my arms, and as I ran, I felt like we were floating, my feet barely touching the ground. I didn't have to think as my feet immediately found the normal path to the guild, my sandals occasionally clacking against the cobblestone in those rare moments that I actually did touch the ground. Looking down at Luce, I breathed out in relief. Everything was going to be okay. She must know by now, right? She must know that we'll handle everything like we always do; we'll charge forward without a second thought, and we'll always make it through somehow. She was smiling now, and it was the same smile I saw when I first met her.

 _'You seemed like a nice person,'_ those were the words I gave to her to explain making a team. It was true, yet it was a lie at the same time. Someone who could smile that brightly without regrets would surely be someone special to me, someone of whom I would admire. That was the real reason: I was attracted to her friendliness, her bright smile that welcomed everyone, the way that she would help anyone, even someone who harmed her, without a second thought. In that sense, I was attracted to her. It was then… we became best friends… and then some things happened here and there, some screw ups, some separations, but, now, I feel that I might like Lucy more than a friend. I smiled as we reached our destination, letting go of the blonde gently as the wind sifted through her radiant hair. I laughed as I patted her head.

"What strange hair," I commented, knowing that on the inside I thought she was beautiful. She scoffed as she reached up to pat my head as well.

"Wow, you're one to talk, great Salamander, scarf of dragon scales and hair the color of cherry blossoms," She teased, and as she let go, I froze, blushing a bit, my eyes wide as I watched her bounce into the guild. I was Natsu, I was Salamander. I chuckled softly this time, my eyes having a fond glow to them. It was funny, that the world seemed so much smaller than it really was. I thought of myself as only Natsu of Fairy Tail, only Natsu, the Natsu everyone knew. Yet, at the same time, I forgot that I was the almighty Salamander the Great. But that didn't really matter, did it? _Because,_ I thought to myself, _I would always be just Natsu, and I'll always be with my best friend, my 'just' Lucy._

Kicking down the guild doors in my usual manner, I felt more alive as I shouted a greeting, and multiple greetings were shouted back.

"Oi! Flame Brain, what took you so long?!" I heard Gray challenge as the shirtless mage stood up, magical aura already surrounding him. Smirking, I felt my magic bubble up inside of me, then flare.

"Nothing much, Ice Princess!"

Mavis' POV  
I swung my legs back and forth as I sat on the ceiling beam, looking down on everyone. They were all rambunctious as usual, not minding their own business and running into a quarrel at every turn. With a small smile, my blue eyes scanned the guild, my brows furrowed in concentration. Everything was as normal… yet it wasn't. Closing my eyes for a brief moment and muttering an incantation, my eyes snapped back open, now sharper, my senses heightened. Standing up, now balancing on the high beam, I scanned the guild once again. Ah, there it was. A dark aura, surrounding everyone, lingering in the air, polluting the area. My eyes narrowed, my smile gone as I tried to scout out the source. Not being able to find anything, I held my hand out in a swooping motion, an orb of powerful holy magic immediately being charged. As I was about to release the purifying magic, however, the dark aura disappeared. I glanced down at the sixth master, and he looked up at me, wearing the same expression. There was only one person who would have the nerve to invade the guild during the day. Knowingly, I mouthed my answer to him, and put my head down as he nodded grimly. What happened on Tenrou, I had only caught a glimpse of, and the times before that, as well. Clenching my fists, I took a deep, steadying breath as I tried to calm myself. Looking back down at everyone, the smile I once wore came back slowly.

 _They can handle this. They are powerful, and we shall aid them. My plans have never failed me, I shall not start now. We will defeat this enemy. The time has come, my children, for you to flourish, to grow. You have gone through many foes, battles, and have endured many scars._ Feeling my spirit fade, I panicked for a moment before composing myself once again. The heavens were calling me, sending me a message. Looking up, I understood as I saw beyond the wooden ceiling, through it, and to the universe beyond. The stars chimed and the winds whispered, all beckoning me. I couldn't help them with this one, this battle was one for Fairy Tail to fight, As the rest of my spirit started to disappear, floating to heavenly forces that required my aid, I finished the last of my message, smiling as I knew that I would be back.

 _The real fight begins now._


	28. Final Attempt: Obliterate the Enemy

p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Lucy's POVbr /I walked, troubled, to the span class="SpellE"Sabertooth/span guild, at a second attempt of visiting after my first one failed me. The First had disappeared yesterday sometime during the afternoon, but Master was telling us not to worry, that this was all planned, and that the stars will decide when the time is right. I didn't know what any of that meant. I would ask Crux, considering he knew almost everything, especially things regarding stellar magic, but these were one of the rare days that he had off, and I was going to respect that. Playing with a strand of my loose hair, my eyes wandered as my feet walked along the path by pure muscle memory. I eyed the many rings that I wore, frowning at the sight of them against my bandaged hands. Those things were uncomfortable, but I needed them. Sighing, I wasn't surprised when I made I to the guild in record time. Instead of barging in like I usually did, though, I lingered at the doorway./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"emWhat exactly do I wasn't to do by coming here? Should I tell them about everything? No, I shouldn't involve them further. But what will this do to help me? Why did I want to come here again? /emWith all these questions running through my head, and my lips in a firm pout, I knocked on the guild doors, hearing a shout of entry. Pushing open the doors slowly, I walked in, greeting everyone as I passed them. Sting and Rogue were in their usual spots, but their hair was braided, two certain, and smirking, ladies were behind them, and they themselves were a blushing mess as the guild laughed at them. The usual group spotted me, and waved me over with cheery smiles./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Hey, what brings you here?" Rufus asked, smiling. I returned the gesture, taking a seat. I opened my mouth to speak, but hesitated, however, it seemed like I took a long pause, because span class="SpellE"Yukino/span quickly covered me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""She could've just wanted to see us, right?" She asked innocently, her eyes sparkling. Laughing nervously, I ruffled her hair a bit./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Yeah, I just wanted to drop by, you know, maybe hang out a bit if you weren't busy; I barely get to see you guys!" I added with some forced enthusiasm. My mood turned bitter as I realized what had compelled me to come to span class="SpellE"Sabertooth/span. It was subconsciously, but the thought still scared me. I came to say goodbye before I left to defeat he enemy. Why would I say goodbye? There was the chance that I would die, that's why. Shaking my head of the horrible thoughts, I didn't realize that everyone was staring at me weirdly./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Are you okay, Lucy?" Minerva asked worriedly, noticing as the blood drained form my face. Taking a shaky breath, I grinned./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Yeah, I think that I'm just a bit tired, is all," I quickly lied, thank myself internally that I had become a good liar over the course of my childhood, where my father was stern and would find any excuse to yell at me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Oh, then we have some meds in the infirmary! Should I get some?" span class="SpellE"Orga/span yelled out enthusiastically, and I laughed genuinely at his usual, energetic behavior./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Nah, I'm span class="GramE"fine/span, thanks." I said, my grin also genuine./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""You seem more like yourself now," Rogue piped in, his hair now unbraided and joining the conversation./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""I seriously don't get where your ideas are coming from, guys. I tell you, I'm fine! I just came to chill, honest." I defended, putting on a poker face as I raised my hands up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Somehow, I was able to steer the conversation topic elsewhere, which was a relief, but we eventually split into groups, and I was stuck with Minerva andspan class="SpellE"Yukino/span as we talked about boys./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""SO, how are things going between you and Rogue~?" I said, my voice slightly span class="GramE"raised/span so that the said dragon slayer could also hear me from across the room. The tactic worked, as both parties blushed a deep shade of crimson. Eyeing them both with one brow raised, I ruffled span class="SpellE"Yukino's/span hair again, laughing./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""All's well, anyone can see that. Don't span class="GramE"worry,/span take it one step at a time. I should know that, of all people," I said, smiling as span class="SpellE"Yukino/span timidly looked up. Grinning a bit, though paints still tinged with pink, she glanced over at Minerva./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Well, Minerva's got someone special, as well, " She now bravely piped up, though she shivered as a hard glare was momentarily earned from the raven-haired mage. Smirking, I turned my attention to Minerva, who stiffened at my gaze on her back. She turned around slowly, a nervous grin on her face./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""So?" I asked, expectantly, knowing that Minerva would give up; I was a very stubborn girl./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Rufus," She muttered, looking down. Shocked, my mouth hung agape, but I noticed the way she looked at her feet, and how she was alternating her weight between her right and left side./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Softening my gaze on her, I smiled at what seemed to be my former self./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Don't worry, love is a weird thing, but don't force it, it'll eventually come naturally," I said while putting an assuring hand on her shoulder. Taking this chance, though, the conversation was immediately focused back onto me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""What about you? You seem to know a lot about this topic, don't you?" span class="SpellE"Yukino/span questioned, her innocent eyes now gleaming. Startled, I looked into space for a moment. emWhat would I say? What should I do? /emDropping my head, my bangs covering my eyes, I took a deep breath./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Then, picking my head back up, and smiling the most casual smile I could muster,/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""I'm in love with span class="SpellE"Natsu/span," It was almost a whisper, but I knew they could hear me. As they stared on, my smile turned small as I looked at my hands./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"emIf there's a chance that I'm going to die, then I have to accept this. It's not like I can run from the truth, is it? Besides, I've already accepted the fact before, so why can't I now, when I'm in the face of danger?/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I looked back at them, who seemed to regain their composure./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Wow, that was blunt, yet respectable," span class="GramE"Minerva/span said, an eyebrow raised. As span class="SpellE"Yukino/span nodded, span class="GramE"I closed my eyes/span, span class="GramE"my head leaned back/span. I felt as loose strands of hair brushed past my face, and I was painfully aware of every heavy breath I took./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""I'm going to die one day, and I'm going to disappear. There's a chance that could happen any day, at any time. That's the world we mages live in, isn't it? We put our lives on the line on every mission we go on, even if it's a simple one. So, what's the point of running from the truth?" I blurted my thought aloud, knowing that I would never regret it. Before they could add on, I stared at them again, but this time looked at them both square in the eye./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""The truth is, I'm on a very dangerous mission, and there's a possibility that I won't come back," I clasped their hands, my eyes getting watery. "Promise me that you'll take care of Fairy Tail, and that you'll keep smiling, even if I disappear." The heavy words let my tears start to spill out./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""span class="SpellE"Wha/span-," they started in span class="SpellE"unicent/span, but were cut off by the boys coming over, the slayers probably having scented the salt of my tears./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Lucy? Lucy, what's wrong?" Sting asked, concerned./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Sorry, I have to go. I'll see you guys later, goodbye for now," with a wink towards my female friends, I teleported out of there, knowing that I couldn't hold it in anymore./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"No one's POVbr /span class="GramE"The/span blonde celestial mage disappeared, leaving the stunned group behind as the flash of gold from her brilliant magic slowly faded. span class="GramE"The girls were crying, the boys left confused./span The two females were the only ones who knew the true meaning of the words she spoke. Would she come back, no one knew the answer to that. However, what the two girls did span class="GramE"know,/span was that Lucy was meddling with something that was far too dangerous for her to handle. She had plucked a corrupted flower in a field of daisies./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Lucy's POV/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I pulled my knees toward my chest, leaning against the trunk of a tree in Fairy Tail's training grounds. I faced the forest, so no one could spot the tears that were slowly making their way down my face./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"emDeath. What a scary thing. Have I really accepted the fact that it exists in this world, that it hangs over my head every second of the day? I don't want to die. I never thought of the possibility that I could die. span class="GramE"So why now?/span Why lose all my faith, my trust, my bravery, at this moment? Why before the battle? Why before I could take action? Why after I've finally thought of what I should do? Life isn't a fairy tale, so why did I think that I would live my life as one? There are still so many things I want to do, though./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I cradled my head in my arms, not noticing the new presence next to me. However, once I felt the warmth that overwhelmed me, smelled the familiar scent of timber and smoke, and saw the blurry color of cherry blossoms through my tears, I looked up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""span class="SpellE"Natsu/span," My voice came out weakly, raspy even. He looked at me with an intense gaze, his eyebrows pointed upwards in concern./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""…Lucy? What's wrong, don't span class="GramE"cry…,"/span He started, coming closer. Looking at him for a moment, I felt relief wash over me. Throwing myself at him, pushing us both to the grass, hugging, I found comfort in his warmth./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Lu-" I cut him off by burying my face into his chest and putting one of my hands on his mouth./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Can we… just stay like this for a moment?"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Okay, do you mind me asking why?"br /"Because, you're my best friend, and you're always there for me, so be there for me now."/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""…"br /"span class="SpellE"Natsu/span?"br /"Yeah, Luce?"br /"…span class="SpellE"Nevermind/span"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"emIf I can be with span class="SpellE"Natsu/span like this, then I guess things won't be so bad. He'll be by my side, after all, right? And if I want to stay with him like this… then I won't die. I'll fight. But what happened to my bravery? What happened to doing it the Fairy Tail way? span class="GramE"With no regrets?/span If push comes to shove, and I start doubting myself, then I'll just have to fight. I'll fight to live, and I'll live for Fairy Tail./em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"My fist clenched, I pulled away from span class="SpellE"Natsu/span, span class="GramE"the/span tears drying as a small wind passed us by./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Luce, what's wrong?" span class="SpellE"Natsu/span askedspan class="GramE",/span his lips put into a small frown. Holding his hand and putting it to his chest, I laughed./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Just some self-doubt. But don't worry, everything's fine now, thanks to you. You don't know how much you help me some times, span class="SpellE"Natsu/span," I commented lightly, ruffling his hair as I stood up. Letting go of his hand, I looked up, at the vibrant leaves of the tree, and the blue sky above it that was peaking through the shades of green. /p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I looked down at the slayer for once, seeing that he was taller than span class="GramE"me and all,/span and smiled./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Catch you later," I said, not willing to say goodbye as I started to walk away, my head held up high./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="SpellE"Natsu's/span POVbr /"Never mind," I was heartbroken. She wouldn't tell me what the problem was, would she? Or was it something span class="GramE"else…?/span However, before I knew it, she was out of my reach and walking away. My eyes widened as a vision suddenly filled my eyes./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"emHer back towards me, she walked away, and span class="GramE"smile/span on her lips. She began to run, disappearing, never to be seen again, her golden hair swaying behind her as a burst of magic overwhelmed her. However, she returned, battered and bruised, nearing death, yet suffering… /emI shook my head as I watched her walk away. Then, without thinking, I ran up and grabbed her hand, stopping her from going any further./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Where you going, Luce? Didn't you just say that I would be there for you? You better not be trying to leave me behind, now," I tried joking, but my desperation and worry leaked through my voice. emShe would go fight him alone, would span class="GramE"she…?/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Natsu…" she said uncertainly, her shining eyes wavering. I looked back firmly, before pulling her back to me. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, the way she stumbled over to me, the way her hair swayed, the way the span class="SpellE"the/span wind rustled my own hair, and the way that out eyes met… especially the way that it felt so right. emThat's right, /emI thought as she was settled in my embrace, emshe's my Luce, and no one's going to hurt her ever again. /emShe was definitely going to do something reckless, I could tell the way her eyes showed hesitation and determination, a look I've worn too many times. My brows furrowed as I embraced her tighter, as I tried to convey the message I wanted to./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"So, whispering, I tried to put it as simply as I could./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Stop trying to play the hero, you'll only get hurt. Try to depend on me a bit more, Luce…" I felt her stiffen up for a second, but then she relaxed, her body going limp./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Maybe I'll try it out," She giggled at the end, and I smiled, but started to frown again when she pulled away. The warm feeling I got was gone. Pouting, I pulled her back in, surprising her./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""span class="SpellE"Natsu/spanspan class="GramE"…?"/span She asked, confused. I cast a span class="GramE"side glance/span at her from where my head was positioned./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Just, stay like this. You're there for me, too, right?" I asked, enjoying the bubbling feeling that I was getting in my chest. emLove. /emI wasn't stupid. I may not be the sharpest guy, but I knew how to differentiate feelings when it came to span class="SpellE"nakama/span. This was the case, yet it felt so new. I breathed in her normal, intoxicating scent. We were all so focused on everything that mating season flew by without a hitch. I was relieved, to be honest. span class="GramE"Strawberry and vanilla./span/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Suddenly, an unidentifiable feeling flooded me, and I was confused. I felt my magic getting stronger, becoming span class="GramE"amplified,/span yet leaving my body at the same time. As I was trying to pinpoint what was happening, Lucy started to glow a bright gold, but it was even brighter than the magic that encased her in my vision. As we pulled apart, staring at each other, wide eyed, I realized that I, myself was surrounded by a fire red aura. Letting go of her, I studied the flat of my palm on one of my hands. Magical energy, but it wasn't fire. It was raw magic. Both of our heads snapped back to the left, though, when we saw a purple aura appear out of thin air. I could only process one thing in my mind./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="SpellE"emKukyo/em/spanem. Danger. /emHe ran for us, his hand outstretched while he wore crazed eyes with a panicked expression./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""GET AWAY FORM HER!" he shouted, and lunged for me. I tried to dodge, but he teleported behind me, kicking me away from Luce. However, it seemed that whatever he was trying to avoid had happened, for he sunk to his knees, screaming, as the Earth shook. My aura had slowly disappeared, but Lucy's still grew strong, practically blinding me. Shading my eyes with my hand, I saw the faint figures of Fairy Tail members flooding through the doors through the piercing light./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"The earth continued to shake, but then I saw Lucy gape at something poking out of the ground./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Lucy's POVbr /There it was. The crystal was emerging from the cracked ground. I braced myself as the earth shook, digging my heels into the ground, but then span class="SpellE"Loke/spanappeared beside me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""What the hell's going onspan class="GramE"?!"/span I shouted at him, hoping for some answers. He stood silent for a moment, floating above the ground, unaffected./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Lucy… span class="SpellE"Natsu's/span right, you really should stop playing hero…" span class="SpellE"Loke's/span voice quivered, and he sounded span class="GramE"all nervous/span, shocked, and frightened./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""What do you meanspan class="GramE"?!"/span I yelled over the roar of the ground cracking as more of the crystal emerged./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""span class="SpellE"Haha/span, you've really grown…" He was span class="GramE"sweating, eyes/span wide./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""You… your subconscious wish to defeat your opponent summoned the primordial magic inside of you, a dormant magic in all wizards…" He continued, laughing nervously as his body started to shake, which was unlike him. This just made me more impatient./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""What is span class="GramE"it?!/span Spit it out, span class="SpellE"Loke/span!" I shouted at him as the crystal now towered over everyone, and the shaking began to fade./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""You… you summoned this crystal," He said as he started to fade. HE looked up at the sky, and let out a tired smile./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""What does that even meanspan class="GramE"?!"/span I yelled once again, even though the boom of the earth was gone./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""It means… you've awakened a frightening power, Lucy," He said, his body fading./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Wait! You're not going to fight with mespan class="GramE"?!"/span I asked, this being my turn to panic./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Sorry, the Stars summon me. Apparently, this was predicted from the start. AS you said, Fate has a twisted sense of humor, right? This is a test from heaven, Lucy, so face it and overcome it, and everything will go back to normal… or at least span class="GramE"slightly…."/span He trailed off as he fully disappeared./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"I was left, confused and panicked, knowing that my primary magic wouldn't be there to support me. Clenching my teeth, I turned on my heel as the smoke from the damage subsided. Once I saw the target, I didn't hesitate. emI'll fight./em My legs pumped as I charged, my fist glowing with magic, my aura not disappearing. I saw some of the members charge forward with me. Raising my fist, I cringed as I heard the maniacal, diabolic laugh of his. emI'll live. /emI stopped in my tracks, though, when he kicked Cana, Freed, and Mira away with full force, probably breaking some bones. span class="GramE"emThree strong mages, possibly dead./em/spanem /emMy fist hung limply beside me as he finished off four more. emCutting through like butter… /emAll of a sudden, my blood started to boil, anger flowing through my veins. I raised my fist again, and ran, punching span class="SpellE"Kukyo/span to the ground. Mentally, I screamed. I was having too many mood swings, letting my emotions take control over me. This wasn't good. I'm switching channels faster than a TV. I'm and then I'm white, what the hell's going on? I didn't even think as I changed position, kicking span class="SpellE"Kukyo/span back down as soon as he tried to get up. He grabbed my, leg, attempting to twist it, but I jumped back, his fingers sliding off. He jumped up as well, his attention focused back on me, only to be attacked by a wounded span class="SpellE"Erza/span behind him. span class="SpellE"span class="GramE"emErza/em/span/spanspan class="GramE"em…!/em/spanem /emHowever, he retaliated just a quickly, knocking her into a tree./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="GramE"emBreathe/em/spanem, span class="GramE"you can do this/span. Think, think, think, span class="GramE"think/span. Breathe, just breathe, and calm down. You can span class="GramE"do this/span, span class="GramE"believe in yourself/span. /emAs I watched my teammates slowly drop one by one, blood staining the training grounds, my eyes caught the blue crystal towering over everyone. Was I stupid? The answer was so obvious. I went towards the crystal, my aura becoming more concentrated, but was blasted away by a beam of dark magic. I turned my head. span class="SpellE"Kukyo/span stood there, only a scratch on his back he received from span class="SpellE"Erza/span, and he towered over the bruised bodies under him./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""They weren't much, were they?" He mocked, and I narrowed my eyes. My magic flared, more powerful than before. However, it sizzled down as the last person went down with a flash of pink. emThat span class="GramE"fast…?/span span class="GramE"Why…?/span/em/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""That crystal… the closer it is, the more powerful I become. Not like you can destroy it, anyway," He said, the smirk obvious in his face, but his voice seemed strained, as if the arrogance wasn't coming out as smoothly as usual. He shouldn't be underestimated, though. I winced as the wound from his attack started to close with my advanced healing. span class="GramE"Blood was everywhere/span, span class="GramE"it pained every corner/span. It turned the training grounds into a war zone. H seemed to notice as my eyes trailed the substance, because he laughed, his magic level rising. He bent down, trailing the blood with his finger./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""You know… red was always my favorite color!" He charged towards me, and I was pushed into defense. He kicked and punched, and even though I blocked them all, they managed to bruise my arms and legs. I jumped back several times, trying to find some distance, but it never worked. Eventually, my legs gave in, sending me tumbling to the floor./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Such a shame… you were more fun last time…" He purred, his arms span class="GramE"raised/span as he started an incantation. emI'll live… I won't die that easily/em. I gritted my teeth, also murmuring and incantation, trying to stand up./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Holy-"/p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Pain's Requiem~" it came out as a sadistic giggle, but that was all it took to know that it was a finishing move./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""Aquarius…" I whispered under my breath, managing to summon a barrier. Would it even do anything, though? I braced my-span class="GramE"self/span as the powerful spell was unleashed, almost sending me to the ground by the sheer amount of magic behind it alone. Clenching my fists, I willed myself for the impact./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""I WON'T DIEspan class="GramE"!"/span I screamed, focusing all my will into this barrier. My eyes closed, I concentrated, and waited… but the attack never came. Lifting my lids slowly, I gaped in horror at the three bodies that lay limp before me, the three familiar magic's fading from the air./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"span class="SpellE"Erza/span, Gray, and span class="SpellE"Natsu/span, all at my feet, blood pooling beneath them. Tears came once again, the thing I hated most./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""No… span class="GramE"no…!"/span I prayed with my screams to the heavens. This was a test too cruel, what had I done, no, what had Fairy Tail done, to deserve this cruel punishment? "They can't be dead… YOU MONSTER!span class="GramE"",/span I felt my magic flare once again as I glared at the laughing monster in front of me./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';""span class="SpellE"HAhahahaha/span! How amusing! Such fools! Well, they're all going to die anyway, so what's the differencespan class="GramE"?!"/span He wheezed out between giggles, completely insane. I dropped to my knees, using all my healing magic on the three. I had managed to close up the serious wounds, and I breathed out in relief, knowing that they wouldn't leave this world just yet./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"They slowly got up, barely acknowledging me as they entered battle positions. Cana and span class="SpellE"Juvia/span followed suit, pooling up their magic's. Levy, span class="SpellE"Gajeel/span, Freed, span class="SpellE"Laxus/span, Wendy… Jet, span class="SpellE"Droy/span, Macao, Wakaba… span class="SpellE"Elfman/span, span class="SpellE"Lisanna/span… The tears kept coming as I was moved by their sheer determination. I myself got up, knowing what I had to do./p  
p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; font-size: medium; font-family: 'Times New Roman';"Our Mission: Obliterate the Enemy/p 


	29. At My Own Dead Body

Lucy's POV  
I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth as I jumped over the cracks and jagged edges of the ground beneath me. Kukyo had teleported us to a deserted wasteland, somewhere far, far away from Fiore, and even further away from the guild hall.

"Celestial Dragon's Roar!" I concentrated my magic on the attack, hoping to get some damage on Kukyo, who had been easily taking us down, one by one. At this point, I had almost forgotten why we were fighting, and only focused on the fact that he was going to risk the future. He dodged the attack, and swiftly brought Elfman down with a powerful punch. _He's more powerful, it must be the crystal._ I glanced at the blue stone jutting out of the ground, glinting against the sun. The red blood on the ground created an awful stench in the air, and I wrinkled my nose at the scent.

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" Natsu unleashed his attack, hitting Kukyo in the chest, sending him hurtling backwards. Silently celebrating, I came in close, sending a kick to his face. Jumping back, I tried to check in with the others. They were all fighting, even though they didn't know why, or how any of this happened. They were the same as me; charging forward without any plan. I bit my lip at the sigth of wounded, limp bodies struggling to get up. Lisanna looked at me with a lopsided smile, her eyes blazing.

Kneeling, I looked at her, holding my hand out.

"I know you want to fight, but I'm sorry," I said as I towered over the wounded group. With a slashing motion, I teleported them all into a safe, special realm where they would be safe. A few cries were heard, but I looked down, guilty. _This isn't their battle to fight, anyway. But, don't worry everyone, I'll fight for you. I'll fight, and I'll live, I'll make Fairy Tail proud._

Lighting up my fist I charged forward, passing Erza and Gray, who were both panting heavily, struggling to stay upright, past Natsu, who was tired, yet still looked ready to kill, past Juvia, who was almost out of magical energy, and past Wendy, who had been forced to the ground. _Poor Wendy…_ I teleported her out of the zone as well, only leaving the four of us and Kukyo. My magic bubbled up as I kept running towards him, but he disappeared at the last second. Time seemed to slow down as he re appeared behind me, kicking me into a tree face first. Flipping myself over, I grabbed his foot, bringing him with me, and eventually smashing him into the ground a few feet away from me.

"Not bad, but not good enough, little angel~" He laughed, his aura lighting up. I narrowed my eyes, reaching into one of my special chambers, pulling out throwing knives charged with magic.

"Purifying Rain!" I shouted, throwing the daggers at him. He tried to dodge, but I managed to get a few good cuts on him. Focusing my attention on those who were left, I wore a serious expression as I tried to configure my magic to teleport them out.

"Lucy?! What are you doing?!" Gray shouted, snapping his head to me.

"Juvia wishes to fight more!"  
"Lucy, we can defeat him!"  
"Luce…!" The last call resonated within my heart, and I smiled sadly as the spell was unleashed. I turned back to a smirking Kukyo.

"Not so fast…!" He then made some sort of barrier, trapping me in it, and I felt all the magic reversing. Everyone that had been teleported to safety was coming back, falling to the ground from a tall height. My eyes widened, and I glared at Kukyo, punching the barrier that he encircled me in.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?! FIGHT ME! I'M WHAT YOU'RE AFTER AM I NOT?!" I yelled at him, desperate to drive his attention away from the others.

"Oh, but I've come to realize something, Lucy, dear. And that is you're physically strong, but emotionally weak. You'll be hurt more by seeing others being hurt, isn't that why you sent them away? Hahaha! I'm not stupid!" He laughed, delivering a powerful wave of magic to everyone, which obviously hurt. Their screams echoed in my ears, and I kneeled, holding my head.

 _No…_

He laughed,

 _NO, I'm not weak anymore…_

Blood splattered.

 _I will fight!  
_ Screams echoed

 _I will live!  
_ Everything was stained red.

 _I'm not that weak, crybaby princess anymore…_

"Death's Happiness!" The spell resounded through the land, and I sat there, frightened as a certain flashback overtook me.

 _FLASHBACK_

 _"Death's Happiness!" the wave of dark energy flooded the mansion, and I sat there, petrified as my childhood friend began to scream. Blood flowed, and his screams echoed throughout the empty, big room. The white tiles were stained with red and his body fell to the floor._

 _I backed into a corner of the room, looking up to meet the blood-red eyes of my father's faithful, and personal servant._

 _"Lucy," my father's voice boomed, hurting my young ears._

 _"You shall no longer make connections with these poor vermin of humans," He probed Jake's limp body, his eyes trailing the ragged clothing he wore with disgust._

 _"You…killed him…" I stuttered, tears pooling in the corners of my eyes._

 _"It's all for the greater good, it's for your education, Miss Lucy. Now, shall we continue with your lessons? I shall be your personal tutor, to ensure that no more vermin sneak in again," Sebastian's eyes gleamed as he removed his coat and gloves, both also stained with the red of blood._

 _My eyes trailed back to Jake's body, still twitching, and whimpering._

 _"What was that spell..?"_

 _"Death's Happiness, a fate worse than death. Torture until one's mind breaks, and that eventually leads to bleeding to death, how the person dies is up to the caster, though. I'm glad you're interested. Would you like me to teach you the art of killing?"_

 _Scared, I trembled, and shakily standing up, ran from the room. As I fled through the halls, I felt Sebastian's blood red eyes look through the walls, following my every move._

 _'I need to leave this place', that's what I thought. Then I'll be free. I didn't know at that time how ignorant I was, and how that ignorance was bliss._

 _FLASHBACK_

"NOOOOOO! STOOPPP!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, my fear turning into power as I shattered the barrier. I focused all of my magic into one attack, and raising my hand, I launched the magic, hoping that I wasn't too late. However, there was no attack that came out, and I slumped back to my knees. _I failed…_ That's what I thought, but I only saw that Kukyo's attack was frozen in midair, and all the Fairy Tail members were frozen in time. He turned to me, brows furrowed, and obviously angry.

"WHAT DID YOU DO, BRAT?!" he screamed at me, but instead of cowering in fear, I remembered all that I've been through, and everything that I've done to prepare for this moment. I ran towards the crystal, ignoring Kukyo's angry screams. He shot an attack at me, which sent me to the ground, but I got back up. The crystal was about 100 yards away. _How did it get that far, anyway?_

I sent one quick attack behind me, to distract Kukyo, and prayed mentally.

 _I hope I have enough magic for this… no, I HAVE to have enough magic for this…_

Reaching for my belt, I fingered through my multiple, organized keychains, remembering Sting and everyone else. _That's right. I can't just live for Fairy Tail, I'll live for Sabertooth as well. No, scratch that, I'll live for everyone who's helped me up till now! Their time, effort, and sacrifices won't go to waste!_

Using both of my hands, I grabbed all of the keys I needed. As I approached closer, I had a moment of self doubt, but I shook it off. _You can do this, just concentrate your magic._

"REPRESENTATIVES OF THE REBORN SOULS! I SUMMON THEE, AID ME AS YOU PASS THROUGH THE GATE!", I shouted, still running. However, I turned backwards, predicting what would happen. Shooting an orb of purification mirror magic towards Kukyo's direction, I prepared myself.

 _FLASHBACK_

 _"Do NOT interfere with the crystal, there will be dire consequences that may be worse than death," The dragon warned. I nodded, but on the inside, I knew that I would disobey someday. I was a part of Fairy Tail after all, and Fairy Tail doesn't exactly follow the rules._

 _"Good girl," Silvia said, and I returned her smile as I stroked her beautiful, silver scales._

 _Then, too, I thought nothing of the consequences, being ignorant to the harsh reality of the world, despite everything that I had already been through. Then, too, I didn't realize that that ignorance was bliss._

 _FLASHBACK_

As my magic energy was concentrated, and the dragons' glowing bodies slowly appeared, time began to flow again, but it was still slowed down, Kukyo and I still being the only ones who had normal time flow. The attack inched closer to them, and I ran towards the crystal, my hand outstretched.

"MAGIC CANCELLATION!" Those words scared me. The mirror magic disappeared, and my own magic was depleting rapidly, having so many dragon gates out at the same time. Forcing myself to continue, I felt more of my magic being cancelled, and time slowly started to flow regularly again.

 _I'm so close- just a few more feet, one more foot, two more steps-_ and then my knees gave out from under me.

I turned back to see the attack only a few feet away from everyone, and time was gradually moving faster.

 _Destroy the crystal, interfere with godly magic._ Those were the only thoughts ringing throughout my subconscious, and all the dragons slowly started to glow an even brighter shade of gold, and they all unleashed some sort of attack- they seemed to know what they were doing. I felt the extreme pull of my magical energy. Time started to move at its normal pace. In a few seconds, everyone would die. But I wouldn't let that happen, not as long as I could fight, not as long as I wouldn't give up, which I wouldn't. _Fairy Tail, you've always been the ones to save me, now it's time for me to save you._

"FIGHT!" And as the attack doom was only a foot away from obliterating Fiore's strongest wizard guild, the power of the dragons and the power of my primordial magic combined, and my palm laid flat against the surprising smooth, and cool, crystal. All of a sudden, my magic flourished again, and I felt as powerful as ever, my wounds healing and my energy being replenished.

I smiled as a crack started to run along the crystal, and time began to freeze again.

"Dark thorns!" Kukyo sent pitch black thorns at me, cutting my skin, staining the ground with even more blood. However, it barely affected me, and I wore a victory smirk.

"Your game is over," I said simply, but then something happen. My magic fluctuated yet again, and time alternate between flowing and stopping completely. I snapped my head back to Kukyo, only to see him chanting a spell.

"You'll pay… HOW DARE YOU INTERFERE! YOU SHALL SUFFER A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH!" I sensed his magic rapidly depleting, and he used the last of it to use one more cancellation. Time flew by, and as the attack was about to touch its first victim, I shot a beam towards it, hoping to repel the dark energy. I still held one palm flat against the crystal though, gradually breaking it down more and more.

My plan worked, and I let a smile break out over my face. The crystal would collapse with a ginger touch, and I had successfully re-routed the death spell. However, things didn't go exactly as planned. Instead of time stopping, or slowing down, it sped up. A wave appeared , and I recognized it as my original mirror incantation. _He cancelled his own cancellation-?_

The spell came hurtling towards me, and my eyes widened, having no way to defend myself as both of my hands were occupied, and using my feet wasn't an option here. Bitterly, I smiled, thinking that I would die, taking this hit for Fairy Tail.

Then, once again, things didn't go the way that they seemed to be going. A light emitted from the crumbling crystal and the two forces clashed in a mirage of magic's, both blinding, breathtaking, and undeniably powerful. I expected to face the doors of death, only to be flooded with energy once again. As the crystal crumbled, everything slowly started to disappear. We were all teleported to the bloody training grounds of Fairy Tail, the dragons fading, the blood magically disappearing, and the crystal lighting up, slowly floating up to the sky. I watched in awe as they seemed to become one with the stars, now having just noticed that it was now evening.

My body started to float into mid air as well as time returned to normal once and for all. A power entered me, but instead of feeling energized, I writhed with pain. It felt as if I was about to explode. My body hurt all over, and the light encasing me was seemingly taunting me, being so beautiful yet so painful. When I landed gingerly back onto the ground, I felt my eyes glowing. I took a step back, though, when I saw the mess in front of me. Bodies everywhere, limply hanging around every corner. The blood was gone, but the damage still remained. Trying not to throw up, I put a hand to my mouth.

I took a shaky step back, preparing to go fetch for help, but the First all of a sudden appeared before me, coming out of thin air and magical particles shimmered off of her.

"F-first? What are you doing here? Hadn't you disappeared? Do you know where Master is as well?" I questioned, having noticed the old man's presence. Looking around, I noticed the radiant figures of the zodiac configure. Master also calmly walked up behind me, startling me.

"M-master?! Where were you and the First?!" I exclaimed, a little alarmed as he looked over the mass of bodies, not flinching, no emotion visible on his face.

"Away. First, please use your magic," Master said, and the First stretched out her hand, which was now encased in pure white. In less than a second, everyone was healed, and standing without a problem, and I gaped at the sheer amount of power that she held, even as a mere spirit form, which was sure to be less powerful than he actual physical body.

Finally, Master's expressionless façade broke as tears started to slip down his face, and he crumpled to his knees.

"You brats, you really are stubborn sometimes, you know?!" He exclaimed, and everyone turned to look at him, after carefully examining their own, fully healed selves.

Not bothering to ask any questions, I walked slowly to a motionless Kukyo, which made me realize just how much he depended on that crystal. Picking him up, I turned back to Master.

"What should we do with him?" I asked, eyeing his battered body.

"We'll report this to the Magic Council immediately, everyone, get inside the guild, we'll have some explaining to do." He said sternly, but Natsu stepped out from the crowd, confronting him.

"Gramps, why leave us in the dark like this? Don't you tell us everything…?" His eyes reflected hurt and betrayal, and his tone was uncertain. I just wanted to reach out to him, to tell him that he had a good reason, but I couldn't. I didn't know what went down, either, and all that I know was the he had left us, and lives were almost lost. However… even if they leave me, they would still be family, isn't that what I always believed in? So now, after I've fought for Fairy Tail, after I've lived for Fairy Tail, the least that I could do at this moment was support the founder and its advisor with a ll my heart, put my lives in their hands, and give them my trust. This whole scenario was also partially my fault, as well. Confidently, I took a step forward.

"Yeah, but at least we dealt with him," I added, nudging Kukyo with my shoulder. Going towards Makarov once more, I stopped in my tracks once I felt something pierce my skin. Looking down, I saw a blade coming out from my chest area. I was too shocked for words, and I kept staring at the piece of metal awkwardly jutting out from my body. It was not stained with blood, though, but rather with gold specks, and a vibrant substance that oozed with magical energy.

"Die," Kukyo whispered, his voice coming out choked, strained, and raspy. His breath sent chills down my spine, and I felt him smile against my skin as he slowly fell off of me, onto the ground beside me. I heard screams around me, but they were all muted. People called out to me, ran to me, and started to shake me, while Wendy kept yelling some order at everyone. Blankly, I looked down at her, who was in tears, and kept trying to console me somehow.

Not processing what was happening, I smiled on the inside. _Wow, such authority… you've grown, Wendy._ My eyes trailed back to the normally cool and the normally expressive, respectively, Gray and Natsu, and what I saw was surprising. Gray was staring, wide eyed, on his knees. Natsu stood there, emotionless, his arms hanging limply by his sides. _I've never seen these sides of you… I wonder what else you hide?_ Finally, I looked towards the ever-strong Titania, and she had a single tear streaming down her face. The broken expressions my friends wore, though, brought me back to reality, and I looked down once more, grabbing the blade with my hands, also cutting my fingers.

Slowly, I pushed the blade out from my body, and dropped it. I smiled at everyone, showing that I was okay. I still wasn't processing what was happening, but I got worried when I saw that everyone was still crying. Looking around, I spotted the tearful, scared, and angry faces of my comrades, all staring at me… except that they weren't staring at me. They seemed to be staring past me. SO, turning around slowly, I saw the most shocking thing of all, my motionless body, covered with blood, and a dagger piercing through my heart, my eyes closed, a content smile on my face. Confused, I watched as Natsu sprang to action, coming at me.

 _"Natsu… smile, I don't like seeing you sad…" I said._

"NO! YOU WON'T DIE LUCE! You won't…" he screamed. It sounded so real, but it didn't seem real. _My hand slowly reached up to cup his cheek, my eyes still closed._

 _"It's… okay," with that, I took a final breath, and my hand dropped to my chest, clenched ever so slightly, my Fairy Tail mark visible for all to see._

That's what I saw, but I was still very confused. I was right here, alive and well, right? If that was true…

 _Then why was I staring at my own dead body?_


	30. The Prophecy Has Begun

Lucy's POV  
The first walked up from behind me, but I kept my eyes trained on the image before me.

"What…?" I was able to utter the single word, before sinking to my knees. Holding my hand to my mouth, I stared wide eyed at my dead body; this was one of the most horrifying moments of my life. _Am I dead?! What's happening?! I don't want to die..!_ As a few tears started to build up, they were abruptly stopped when I heard the First start to speak.

"Lucy, you aren't dead. However, to save Fairy Tail, you have made a great sacrifice, for that, I thank you deeply," turning my head, I stared blankly as she bowed to me.

Staying silent as she rose her head, my fear doubled as I saw the grim expression that she wore.

"That stone is a gift from the heavens, a gift of eternal power, of immortality. It ended up in the wrong hands, though, and was taught evil. And now that you have tinkered with it with the light of the stars, along with the evil of Kukyo's death spell… there was a reaction," she said the last few words in a small voice, and I continued to stare at her willing her to go on.

"You… became immortal."

I sighed a breath in relief, knowing that I would be able to still live my life with Fairy Tail.

The First stayed silent, looking down, and I turned my head to look back at the screen, which was slowly fading into gold dust. She held her hand out, and everything seemed to reverse itself. I wasn't stabbed, but instead-

Before I could see what happened next, my vision turned black, and I heard the First's chilling voice from above me.

"I'm sorry… Please be strong, for a painful road lies ahead of you…" were the las words she whispered. I saw Master actually looking at _me_ , and he looked away, brows furrowed. I reached out to him, wanting answers, and knowing that he could provide them. He was the Master that welcomed me, accepted me, and he was the Master I had looked up to for all this time. My hand faltered, though, and my vision started to swim in circles. Falling limp, I caught a glimpse of my golden hair falling with me, and thought of my mother.

I woke up, everything a bright white. Blinking a few times, I recognized myself to be in the infirmary. It was only moments later, though, that I saw Wendy hovering over me, while Master stood off to the side with Mirajane, who was worridedly clutching a clipboard.

Before anyone couls say anything, I waved them off.

"I'm fine; my magic is at its usual level, I don't feel any pain, and any wound that I have can be healed by Virgo. For now, would you mind leaving me to rest?" I said in one breath, although I knew that I just really wanted some time to think to myself. Wendy nodded, and she filed out, along with Mirajane. Master followed, but that was only after as he threw something to me. Before I could question him, he was out of the room, and the door closed, leaving me all alone. I looked at the object in my hands. _A book. The perfect thing to get my mind off of things._

Closing my eyes for a split second, I let my hand run over the intricate designs of the cover.

"The Immortal Princess," I said aloud to myself. Turning to the first page, I smiled at the familiar sound of the crisp pages rustling against each other.

 _Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was adored by everyone. However, she was self conscious, and considered herself weak, so she went out to train herself. Eventually, she was able to become stronger, only to have her heart broken, seeing that her prince had seemingly left her. Through this, though, the pan made her become even stronger, and she learned to get used to the heartache._

Frowning at the context, I flipped a couple of pages, and continued to read.

 _The girl's power was wanted by many, but one particular man had strived for it. He wanted to fix the past, to accomadate to himself, thinking that it was the right way to avenge the death of his mother. So, he had kidnapped the girl, but she put up a fight. Over and over again they fought, but the girl ended up being trapped in the end. One day, though, she had gotten the upper hand, and was able to return home to her family. They welcomed her with open arms, and she was content as she was with her friends again._

Going to the next page, I found myself lost in the book, relating to it.

 _She didn't know, though, was that she had dragged her family into the whole ordeal, the one thing that she didn't want to do. She hid all of her pain with a smile, but her mask was slowly cracking._

 _As the girl was unlocking an unknown power, the strange man came once again, with his corrupted gift from the heavens. The girl and her family fought ferociously, but the man was slowly winning. Frightened, the girl could only watch as her family was slaughtered, but she had realized a new solution. If she were to destroy the gift from heaven, the man would fall. There were dangers with handling the stone, though she those aside, only wanting to save her family._

 _She used her magic, colliding with heaven's corrupt ideals, but all the while, a spell of death was cast, and the magic's clashed. The girl's soul was altered, and she had become immortal._

 _~  
Not caring, her prince was returned to her, and they lived happily, blissfully unaware of the consequences of the girl's immortality. They lived together, but the girl knew something was wrong when she had her youthful skin, whereas her husband was growing old. Under the magic of illusion, however, she too aged. Over this time, she had earned the thanks from the heavens for ridding of their corrupt gift, and had received a wish. Not knowing what to use it on, the girl continued to grow old. One day, though, the man revealed that he was a demon, and the girl, once again frightened, used her wish. _

_'I wish to return to the time where he was really there' she said to the heavens, and so time was reversed. She had traveled to the exact spot in time where she had met her prince. The boy recognized her, as if she was from some other life of his, but the girl was once again, unaware, her memories wiped as a small price to pay for the wish._

 _She didn't know, though, that this was her fifth time continuing the loop, and this time, heaven couldn't adhere to her wishes. Each time, something was changed, and heaven decided it was time to stop. And so, the girl's memories returned, as did the boy's, and lived together, for the last time, smiling happily together until the end._

Closing the book, I held it to my chest. I would have time to revisit the skipped pages later, so I gingerly stood up, feeling power pump up through my veins. I felt the cool floor against my bare feet, but I didn't care, and I continued until I was stopped in front of the infirmary's curtain. Looking at my hands, I realized that my limiters had broken off, probably during the fight, and I shook my head. _No reason to hide._ I put my hand on the curtain, moving it slightly. _I've changed, but I won't ever really change._ I pushed the curtain aside, and I unexpectedly felt tear prick the corners of my eyes as I watched all the faces of my family turn to look at me. Natsu started to run at me, and I smiled at them as they shouted and chorused.

"I'm back!"

"Lucy!" Natsu reached for me, hugging me. Hugging back softly, I let the silent tears spill, my happiness flooding through me.

"I'm sorry that I worried you…" I whispered, and he hugged me tighter, only to be pulled away by Gray, who was glaring at him.

"Yo! Don't hog her!" His eyes softened as he turned to me, and he hugged me as well, I returning it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Juvia chanting 'LOVE RIVAL', but I also spotted a hint of relief reflected in her eyes. I cringed as Erza smashed me into her breastplate, but laughed at her antics as she hurriedly apologized, insisting that I smack her in some way.

"I'm back!" I yelled one more time, relishing in the fact that nothing had changed. _As long as I can live with my family like this… I'll worry about immortality later,_ I thought to myself as my book disappeared into the spirit world.

"This calls for a celebration!" Cana said, raising a mug full of beer. Wakaba, who was beside her, laughed, slamming down his own mug.

"You just want an excuse to drink!" he exclaimed, and Cana scoffed.

"You wanna take me on?" She slurred, glaring at him as she got a refill. Wacao returned the glare as he got another mug of his own. In a few seconds, they were chugging down beer. Sweat dropping, I watched as everyone erupted into one of their usual brawls, this being a usual party standard for Fairy Tail. Requipping into another outfit, I hummed happily. Walking over to the bar, I decided to go out of my safe zone, and, feeling frivolous, ordered some champagne.

Holding the pretty glass carefully, I took a sip, watching as everyone was drawn into Natsu and Gray's brawl, though they were all quickly eliminated as Erza put an abrupt stop to the fight. Closing my eyes, I felt the familiar presences of my friends all around me.

 _I used to be alone…_ An image of me as a child standing alone in a ballroom flashed before me. Slowly opening my eyes again, I studied the smiling faces of everyone around me, and couldn't help the warmth going through my body. _It's a nice feeling… having others with you._ I took another sip, letting the flow of the party take me over.

Natsu's POV  
Everyone was pretty much wasted, so, not bothering to pick another fight, I scanned the area for Lucy. She wasn't here, so I used my nose, sensing that she went outside. Following the scent, I found her in a field of flowers, staring up at the stars of the night sky. Standing behind her, it didn't take long for her to notice me.

"Natsu…" her breath mingled with the smell of alcohol, and she had a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Lucy…" I said back, and she stood up, but stumbled a bit. Supporting her with my arms, I frowned.

"Luce, I'm glad you're back…" I whispered, and enveloped her in my arms.

"Natsu…?"  
"Being away from you… it just _hurt_ so much. Seeing you lying there, bruised and bloodied, bcause you were protecting us, _it just hurt so damn much._ I hated that feeling of uselessness. I was so worried…" I voice my real feelings, holding her tighter.

"But, it made me realize something. That I can't live without you, and that you're more than just my best friend. You're a part of me," I continued, feeling her hesitate in my arms.

"So," I went on. "I finally realized, that after all this time," I stared into her eyes, pulling away a bit.

"I love you,"

Her eyes went wide, and she blushed even more, but I could tell that it wasn't from the alcohol.

"N-natsu, I-I" she stammered, twirling a piece of her hair. Eventually, she took a deep breath, and looked up.

"The sky sure is pretty, isn't it?" she noted, looking at the stars with fondness in her eyes.

Eyes trailing upwards, I found myself lost in the stars. Plopping myself down on the grass, I sat cross legged. After a few minutes, I turned to her.

"You didn't answer me," I stated, and she looked confused.

"Do you love me?" I asked simply, and she looked shocked again. Then, after a few moments, she spoke up, nodding.

"Of course I do, i-idiot!" she whisper yelled, smacking me on the arm. I looked at her for a moment, but a grin slowly spread across my features. Throwing myself around her, I started to laugh.

"Then, you're mine, right?" I shouted, and she smiled up at me, hugging me back.

"Obviously, idiot!" she chorused. Linking our hands together, I smiled at her once more.

Lucy's POV  
 _Just like Natsu, to be straightforward and direct._ He laced his hands with mine, and I squeezed back.

"I love you, too…" I repeated, almost to myself, as I glowed with happiness. Our hands together, like pieces of a puzzle, just felt so _right._ Our eyes meeting, us together, under the stars, just felt so _satisfying. Love's a wonderful thing, isn't it?_ I lightly touched his salmon hair, a shade I've gotten used to, thanking the universe that I was able to meet this dragon slayer.

"The adventure continues, though, isn't that right?" I murmured what he had said to me so many times, and he smiled, jumping up.

"I'm all fired up now! We still have to party!" He started running dragging me along as laughter bubbled up from inside of me. _Yes, things were as normal._

My feet hitting the pavement, my hair flying behind me, and the glimpses of Natsu's scarf of scales fluttering in the wind, it all felt so natural, as if this was meant to be.

 _-I remember I took everything for granted._

The guild neared, and we could hear the boisterous mages from where we were.

- _I wasn't careful._

Kicking down the guild doors in his usual manner, Natsu entered another brawl, while I sparked up some conversation with Wendy.

- _So I got hurt._

I watched the pink Fairy Tail mark on my hand grow radiantly.

 _-I regretted my actions._

My eyes scanned the crowd, smiling at the familiar faces.

 _-I should've known that it wouldn't have lasted._

"These guys sure are crazy, huh?" I remarked, noticing how Gray strippd down to his bare skin, with Wendy covering her eyes, Juvia fangirling in a corner.

 _-I wish that I could've turned back time, just to relish the time more, just so I could appreciate it._

Sighing in content, I leaned my elbows back on the table, giggling at a woozy Mavis who was trying to balance on the ceiling beam.

- _It was all perfect, at the time._

Forming the Fairy Tail signature mark, an L shape, I raised my hand, shouting.

"Let's amp this party up!"  
 _-Then it all went awry._

"Damn right!" Slurred Wakaba, who had obviously lost the drinking competition he was currently in, seeing that Cana was still chugging down wine at a fast pace.

- _I had been tricked, but fate was still cruel, after all._

Touching my keys and feeling their calming presence, I ordered a drink, my throat being parched from the alcohol I had previously consumed.

- _Why didn't I do anything?_

I locked eyes with Natsu from across the room for a moment, and I grinned, him returning the gesture before he was pulled back into the fight by a very drunk Gray.

 _I thought nothing of it. I took it all for granted, and forgot something that would come to haunt me later. I was hurt, and I kept this on for too long. But, time and time again, I ignored the signs, and just lived as carefree as I was. I should've been more careful, I should've calculated the risks before I got hurt. But no, here I am, in an endless loop, with no way out. I haven't gotten stronger. If I was strong, I wouldn't have gotten hurt, I wouldn't have been afraid, I wouldn't have been stupid and gotten stuck here. What's the point, anyway, if I'm just a toy? Immortality… a fate worse than death, indeed._

 _The prophecy has already begun._


	31. Snippets of Time

Lucy's POV  
I put my hair up, stretching out my arms as I did so. Looking out the window, I took in a deep breath, smiling to myself. _Today's a new day, a normal one at that._ Stepping into my shoes, I secured my belt, heading out the door. Rolling my shoulders out and summoning Plue, I began to balance myself on the edge of the river, waving hello to the fishermen as I always did. A small yawn escaping my lips, I let my mind wander, wondering about the things that I would do today.

"Plue, I wonder what adventures we'll go on today?" I said aloud to my spirit, in which came a happy reply of 'pun, pun!'.

Lookng up at the sun, my wandered even further.

"I wonder if there's a gate of the Sun?" I said aloud, once again to my spirit, and I was surprised when Plue nodded. Grinning a bit, I felt a warm feeling flood me as I thought about making another friend sometime soon. Finding myself in front of the guild, I sent Plue back, but that was only a second before I was run down.

Rubbing my head and sitting up, I blinked.

"Eh? Minerva? Yukino? Oh, the whole gang's here!" I exclaimed happily as they all looked at me worriedly.

"SO, what brings you here?" I chirped, getting up, dusting myself off.

The next thing I know, a glare was being sent my way. Gulping, I shakily lifted my head to look at Minerva.

"The fact that you basically said you were going to die, you moron!" her voice was harsh, but I saw her mouth quivering. _Oh, that…_

Laughing, I patted her head lightly.

"Don't worry, I'm fine! There was just a little mix up with an old friend…" I trailed off, looking to the side, but then I acknowledged the others.

"Come in, come in! It's a rare occurance that you come over!"

"Sorry, we need to head back. We got an especially requested mission!" Sting said, coming up to me and clapping my shoulder. Looking up at him, pouting, I managed a sad smile.

"Oh, then I guess I'll catch you around, then?" I said hopefully, and Rogue nodded silently, a tiny smile visible on his features, Rufus harboring the same expression.

I watched as the five walked off, their steps in perfect sync, proudly holding their heads high. A black and white flashback of my own team walking off in the same fashion filled my vision.

 _I reached out, but they were too far, on a different level. And there, I stayed, grounded, and weak._

Shaking my head, I pinched my cheek. _I'm strong now. Besides…_ Turning around, I ran inside the guild, wanting to see them. Throwing open the doors, panting slightly from my excitement, I locked eyes with them, the team, sitting at their usual spot. Then, I met gazes with him. The one who brought me here.

"I'm here!" I yelled, running towards them. _Besides… they would never leave me. And they'll always be right next to me, till the day I die…_

I didn't think, and forgot, letting myself be carried away by my fantasies. The same vision flooded my eyesight, but this time, I was walking with them, smiling. _Yeah, that's the way it's supposed to be…_

"Luce!" Natsu ran to me, unexpectedly throwing me up in the air. Screamng, I hit his head, making him drop me back onto the ground.

"Idiot! Don't do that so suddenly!" I scolded him, and watched as he chuckled nervously, the guild laughing at us.

"Glad to see you're full of energy," Erza said, holding a piece of cake, before inhaling it in one fell swoop. Wendy nodded at this, smiling sweetly at me. Gray walked over to me, grinning, before proceeding to start a fight with Natsu.

"Yeah, idiot! Don't throw her! She basically almost died yesterday! What are you, crazy?!" He shouted at him, and as Natsu retaliated, I just walked away as normal. Going over to the bar, sweat dropping, I said a thanks as I received my usual drink. Sipping the frozen drink, I savored the familiarity.

"Strawberry smoothie, huh? Just like old times…" looking back at all of Fairy Tail, I was surprised to see that nothing much had changed. Then, a little sadly, I bit my lip.

"Just me, that's right… Well, I'll just keep on going as usual!" I exclaimed, earning a confused, yet happy laugh from the others at the bar, Cana swinging an arm at me while Mira handed me a plate full of food.

"That's the spirit, Lucy! Let's drink to it!" Cana shouted, but promptly fainted afterwards. Shrugging her off of me and laying her head gently on the table, I continued to sip my drink.

A few moments later, though, a fire dragon slayer put his arm around me, waving a poster.

"Let's go on a job, Luce!" Startled, I turned to him, an eyebrow raised.

"Sure, let me just finish my food first-" I began, reaching for my fork, but Natsu took the plate, and let all the food fall into his waiting mouth. Staring as he burped, I found my energy return to me in a burst.

"NASTU!" I yelled, beginning to chase after him as he threw the flyer at me, running away, laughing.

 _Hmph._ Going to catch up with the others, I put on a burst of speed, going with confident strides. Looking at the flyer, I noticed that the word MONSTER was written in bold, and mentally sighed. _Of course, what else would Natsu pick?_ But then, I smiled, looking at the back of the fire dragon slayer. Walking ahead of Gray and Erza, I went beside Natsu smiling at him. Gently taking his hand, and positioning it so that the others couldn't see us, I looked at his face. He looked at our intertwined hands for a second, but then he burst into a smile, holding my hand tighter. Beginning to run again, he headed for the forest, dragging me along. Turning around at looking at the other two, he stuck his tongue out.

"Whoever slays the most monsters buys dinner! See ya, suckers!" He shouted, grinning. Face palming, I began to run, not letting myself be dragged along.

"She's Erza, remember?" I said, my voice portraying no emotion.

"Shit,"

 _Summer_

I watched as the sun rose, the warmth filling my body. Fingering the newest key on my chain, I smiled. Looking down, I saw Natsu holding my waist, sprawled across the rest of the bed. Playing with a piece of his hair, I began whispering to myself.

"It's salmon, not pink, isn't that right?"

He moved a bit, mumbling, and I giggled.

"I love you," I had begun to warm up to the unfamiliar phrase, and I looked to the calendar. _July 7_ _th_ _._ _I'll be there for you._ My eyes trailing back to him, I was surprised when he sat up, hugging me.

"Love you, too," He mumbled sleepily against my neck, and I hugged back slowly, tearing up.

"It still feels so unreal, the fact that you're with me right now," I said, letting my eyes close.

"Well, it is real, isn't it? And I'm fired up!" He exclaimed, pulling away. Then, without warning, he flung open the window, and proceeded to jump out of it.

"Let's go to the guild!" He shouted, and began to run.

"H-hey! At least wait for me!" I shouted out, running to my drawer. Skipping my usual shower, I hurriedly pulled on some clothes, using my speed to also jump out.  
Rolling my eyes a bit at his rowdiness so early in the morning, I giggled to myself.

"I guess even time won't be able to change you…"

 _Fall_

Watching the leaves flutter down, I sighed. My eyes trailing back to the others, I saw everyone laughing at a weird dance that Natsu was performing. Sadly, I looked down at my hands. _Time passed by so fast…_ I was still hung up on what happened in the Spring. _Immortality…? No, it doesn't seem real… could it be?_ Shaking my head, I got up to join my team, giving one last glance to the maple tree I was walking away from.

Watching the faces of everyone, I began to smile myself. _I wish time would stop…_

 _However, I had already forgotten that there was a point in my life where I had wished for more._

 _Winter_

I hugged myself, watching my breath drift out into the cold air. _Gray must be loving this,_ I thought to myself, rubbing my hands together. Balancing on the edge of the river as always, I waved to the boatmen, wondering where Natsu had run off to. My thoughts were replaced, though, when I felt myself being picked up fro behind. Hugging to he back of my kidnapper, I recognized the warmth.

"Where did you go?" I asked him, playing with a strand of his unique hair color.

"Somewhere," He said back, looking at me and grinning. Shrugging off his evasiveness, I didn't notice how happy he was.

Sighing, I fingered the keys at my belt. _I haven't called you out for a while, huh Acnologia?_ I also didn't notice, caught up in my newfound thoughts, how the said key started to jungle, a faint glow emitting from it.

 _Spring_

Waking up extra early, I smiled. _Our anniversary, a whole year has already passed._ Lightly getting up and pushing the dragon slayer off of me, I went to the bathroom, my outfit in hand. _I guess I can doll myself up for him._ Thinking that, I began my routine, thinking about everything we were going to do today.

TIME SKIP

I finished cooking the breakfast, and as I was plating it , two strong arms enveloped me from behind.

"'Sup, Luce?" he yawned sleepily, but perked up when he saw the food.

"Love ya' too, Happy anniversary! Let's dig in!" he exclaimed, jumping to the table and swallowing down a mouthful immediately. Surprised, I looked at him as I slowly took my own seat.

"You remembered? You don't seem like that type of person…" I whispered to myself, picking up my fork and looking at it thoughtfully. Laughing, he looked up from his plate, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Silly, how could I forget? You're my most important person, I want to remember you forever," he said, swallowing another lump of food. Tears of joy sprung to my eyes, but before he could sense them, I hurriedly wiped my eyes and started to eat.

"M-moron! Don't say things like that so suddenly!" I said, cutting up a piece of sausage and putting it into my mouth.

"Why not? It's true, isn't it?" he asked bluntly, and I felt my face redden. Looking down, I mumbled my response.

"Shut up,"

"Haha! You're cute when your embarrassed, Luce!" He said, chuckling. _This also isn't like him…_ Looking up, I was caught off guard to see him staring at me, a soft smile on his face.

"Natsu? Is something wrong? You're not acting like yourself today…" I trailed off, taking another bite of food.

"No, I'm just… happy. I've had relationship problems, with my dad, my family in general. But you're different. You stuck with me, and I love you for that. Even since the first time I laid eyes on you, you seemed so familiar." He admitted. Blushing once again, I looked down, pouting.

"Yeah, sure, Shakespear. Since when were you a romantic poet?" I teased, lightening up the mood. Giggling as Natsu started to sputter, we happily continued to eat. However, my heart seemed to contract as something in my deep memory stirred.

 _'You seemed so familiar', he said._

 _The princess had lived on in this loop, her past lives forgotten, while her prince remembered his 'reincarnated' self._

Running my hand through my hair, I smiled at him happily.

"Let's have fun today!"

"Aye!" Our heads turned to look at the blue exceed, and our eyes widened.

"Happy! I thought you had went on a long mission with Carla and Wendy!" I exclaimed, walking over while Natsu tackled the exceed into the ground.

"Hehe, well I see that you two have been having plenty of fun on your own," He remarked, waving a camera around. My short feeling of appreciation and joy vanished, annoyance bubbling inside of me.

"You… COME BACK HERE, CAT!"

"O-oi! Happy!"

The blue exceed flew out the window happily, Natsu jumping afer him, with me hurrying for the stairs.

 _1 Year Later_

I looked at my smooth, pale skin, my hair, the same length, and my body structure, still curvaceous, despite all the junk food I was dragged into eating with the others. Frowning, I was startled when the First appeared behind me, sitting on my bed. Without warning, I blacked out.

Waking up the next day, my hair seemed longer, but I shrugged it off, having no recollection of yesterday's events.

 _2 Years Later_

"Luce!" Natsu shouted as he barged into the guild. Turning my head away from Levy to look at him, I waved. However, instead of waving back, he stood there, panting. Throwing a velvet box at me, I quickly caught it.

"Don't look inside yet!" He panted, and, when he caught his breath, he opened his mouth to speak.

"We've known each other for a long time, and you know that I'm not good with speeches or sappy love letters!" he shouted across the room, and everyone turned to stare at him.

"SO, I'll just give it to you straight!" I felt my breath start to hitch, as I slowly stood up, looking at the box in my hands. He nodded at me, and I gingerly began to open it. Inside, lay a beautiful diamond ring, a dragon wrapped around a key inside of it.

"W-what..?" Tears began to flow, and I put my hand to my mouth.

"Lucy Heartfilia, I love you! Marry me!" He shouted with the last of his breath, but I'm pretty sure all of Magnolia could hear it. The tension in the guild doubled, and you could hear a pin drop as they waited for my response.

"Y-y…" I stuttered, but, upon taking a deep breath, I placed the ring on my ring finger, looking at him through my tears of happiness.

"You idiot! Of course I'll marry you!" Silence followed, then an eruption of cheers moved through the hall. Running into his arms, I giggled as he exclaimed his usual catchphrase, and nuzzled into his neck.

"Of course, it's so like you to do things this straightforward," I commented,

earning a chuckle from the fire dragon slayer.

"But," I continued, looking up into his eyes.

"I wouldn't have it any other way,"

"That's why I'm in love with you," he said, our faces inching closer together. When we sealed our engagement with a kiss, the guild members went even crazier. They're cheers and partying were barely audible to me, though, because I relished the kiss, this being one of the happiest moments of my life.

 _I feel like I've used up all my happiness meant for me in my lifetime, Natsu._

 _Yet you just keep digging up more and more from my locked heart._

 _And for that, for being with me, being my friend, and loving me,_

 _Thank you._

 _1 Year Later_

I walked down the aisle, my dress trailing behind me. Levy, Natsu, and Gray stood waiting for me at the end, and my breath hitched at the sight of my soul mate in a dazzling suit, his signature scarf floating in the wind. I grasped Master Makarov's hand tighter, and he flashed me his million dollar smile. Smiling back, I felt his let go, and I drifted towards my husband to be.

As the Priest began, I jus stared into his deep, onyx eyes, and he grinned. Before we could even get to the vows, he clemped his hand over the Priest's mouth, and shouted out to the whole crowd, which was basically all of Magnolia, considering Fairy Tail's popularity, as well as Sabertooth and other guild members.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it old man! I may kiss the bride, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada, yada, okay, here we go!" Placing the ring on my finger, her kissed me, shocking everyone before they all burst into laughter. As music started to play, even the Priest stripped off his robe, revealing a dancing spanx suit underneath. As a lot of us cringed and covered our eyes, we all enjoyed ourselves, the celebration whisking us all into the night.

 _2 Years Later_

Everything began to fall apart when we went to visit Tenroujima. It was an innocent trip, and we just wanted to have a peaceful vacation, the world of magic always giving us some job or request or some type of work in any shape or form to complete. But when Acnologia, led us straight to Zeref, it all went downhill.

"What are you doing here?!" Natsu growled, getting off from the dragon's back.

"Brother," he whispered, tearing up.

Freaking out, I looked at the two of them, sending Acnologia back, but not before giving him a confused glare.

"What..?"

".."  
"Don't even suggest that, you scum! I'll take you on, any day!" He shouted, charging his fist up with a flame so big and hot that I had to run back, and hide behind a rock, even with my power level. I didn't see what happened after that, though. Before I knew it, there was an explosion, and Zeref disappeared, leaving an unconscious Natsu behind.

 _1 Year Later_

Natsu began acting strange. These weird, black mark started to appear on his arm, and he began doing odd things like suddenly running away, or ignoring me. He was still himself, though, so I shrugged it off.

 _6 Months Later_

He began getting aggressive, and I had to knock him out once to protect myself. I was scared.

 _1 Year Later_

When we had went to Porlyuisca, everything was alright again. That's what I thought, at least. All the marks disappeared, and he returned to his normal self, energetic and bouncy, despite the fact that we were starting to grow old. 26, I already was. Now that I think about it, I never knew how old Natsu was…

 _20 Years Later_

I've begun to slow down a bit. My hairs have started to gray, and I haven't been to the guild as often as I used to. In fact, I never go anymore. The mark still remains on my hand, though, and I never plan on getting it removed. It was the emblem of my home. However, the strange marks have appeared on Natsu again. Nothing has happened to him, though, so I'm sure it' something that Porlyuisca can easily fix.

46\. 46 years of my life gone. I thought nothing of it.

 _40 Years Later_

I can't get up anymore, neither can Natsu, but we're happy. At least we were. But then, that day happened. It was during the Spring, our anniversary. I was happily sipping some tea, writing another novel that I hope would sell well like the other books I've written. That's when, strong arms grabbed my fragile shoulders, making me howl in pain. Fearfully, I looked at the assaulter… It was… Natsu. Vibrant pink hair, strong, toned arms, young face, but eyes full of hate and darkness. Shaking, I didn't understand what was happening as his hands wrapped around my neck. My gray hair slowly started to turn blonde, my wrinkled skin smooth, and my flat, crumpled body curvaceous. I witnessed my own transformation. I clawed at my throat, my face heating up from the lack of oxygen.  
"Why..?" I rasped out, but he didn't reply. I saw the familiar flash of his onyx eyes, and then,

I witnessed my own death.

 **Sorry guys! I haven't been able to update because i was having testing week, and had a performance, so i was really busy. To top it off, my wifi went out. -_-). Anyways, i hoped you enjoyed this chapter!  
~FatedGateway**


	32. The Final Scene

Lucy's POV

Blinking, I sat up, my head dizzy. Everything was so bright, and I felt like I was seeing stars. Rubbing my eyes, though, I was surprised to find that I _was_ seeing stars. Looking around the bright, golden lit area, I notice something in the distance. A falling star. And it was headed straight for me. Panicking, I scurried back, bracing myself as the star exploded into dust. Coughing, I stayed on the ground, peeking through my hands to see a tall, bright figure emerge.

"An angel…" I whispered subconsciously, and as the dust cleared, the figure stretched out wings of pure white, leaving me mesmerised.

"Correct," the kind voice sated, holding out a hand to me which I hesitantly took.

"W-where am I?" I asked, feeling for my surely broken neck, only to find it unharmed.

"You're in heaven, not dead though, so do not fret, child," the angel said, calmly as I stared into his piercing blue eyes.

"Child? You look to be about the same age as me," I commented, having somewhat collected my wits.

"That is because we are immortal in the name of the Seraph. I am actually hundreds of years old. You may call me by the name of Acrophil. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Heartfilia," Acrophil bowed a little, his long blonde hair creating shadows on his perfect face. Taking a deep breath, I began to form more questions in my head.

"W-why am I here?" My voice came out small and tiny, and I didn't like it one bit. Gulping, I looked to him as he began to speak.

"We sensed that you were in the hands of a demon, so the heavens sent me to fetch you. We are eternally grateful for what you have done," his voice boomed, leaving me confused.

"What do you mean? A demon? Grateful?" my head was spinning, and I shifted into a cross legged position. Acrophil got a sad look in his eyes, but he reverted back to his happy expression just as fast.

"If you remember, about 63 years ago, you battled against one of the sons of Lucifer, in which he had gone by the name of Kukyo in the human realm, I believe. He had somehow gotten his hands on the crystal of immortality, a gift from up here down to the humans to repair damages after the war. You were able to defeat him and restore the crystal into its true form, the stars that give guidance to Earthland. We are extremely grateful for cleaning up after our own mistakes, Miss Heartfilia," the way he said it sounded so heartfelt, but it seemed as if it had lost its meaning over time, as if he had repeated it too many times to count.

"One last question, Acrophil. How do you know me?"  
"We've been through this process before, Lucy. Not that you would remember. Anyhow, as a token of our gratitude, we are able to grant you one wish, anything that you could possibly want," Acrophil stated, bowing once again, his eyes seemingly staring into my soul. Immediately, though, I knew what I wanted to wish for.

"I wish to reverse time," I breathed out, looking down at my hands.

"Back to the time where Natsu was just Natsu, and I was just Lucy,"

".."  
"I was able to piece everything together. Natsu was the demon you were talking about, right? During Tartaros, I overheard everything, but didn't understand at the time. He's END, awakened by his brother, Zeref, to be the demon lord. His instinct to banish good overcame his true self, leading him to…" I gulped, not being able to finish. A cool hand was placed on my shoulder, and it soothed me.

"Color me impressed, Miss Lucy. Now, close your eyes," He said sadly. Following his orders, his fingertips touched my eyelids briefly, and he put his hands on the top of my head.

"Your wish will be granted… However, this will be the last time…" He murmured.

 _Last time..?_ My memory failing me, I couldn't make the connection the humble storybook gifted to me decades ago.

Light filled my vision, even with my eyes closed, and I blacked out again.

Waking up, I found myself outside, and apparently on a bench. Sitting up, I looked to see a magazine on my lap, titled Sorcerer's Weekly. Something in the back of my mind clicked as I watched the famous pinup model Mira of Fairy Tail on the pages. Looking at my blank hand, I felt a burning passion fill me. _I need to go to this place._ My heart clenched, and a voice boomed in my head.

 _'The cycle will end as evil is banned to the deepest corners of hell'._

At that moment, memories flooded me, memories of Fairy Tail, of battles, enemies, allies, friends, and adventures. Memories of magic, fun, family, and trust. Memories of hurt, sacrifice, sadness, and pain. Memories of hair the color of cherry blossoms, scarf made of dragon scales, and strongest dragon slayer in Fiore.

Smiling to myself, I felt happiness all throughout my body. I couldn't exactly get the name off of my tongue, but the feeling of burning love was there.

Natsu's POV  
I woke up, clutching my head. Gray looked at me, snorting.

"Finally up, huh Princess?" he retorted, but I didn't say anything back.

 _Lucy._ The only name echoing in my head. Golden hair, chocolate brown eyes, radiant smile, the love of my life, and the one I killed. _Why did I kill her? What happened to me? We were living the perfect life… and I ruined it. Why did this have to happen? Who am I really? What really happened that day?_ Guilt filled me, as this unfamiliar familiarity was all I saw. A tear slipped down my face, and Gray peered worriedly at me.

"Lucy… Where's Lucy?!" I shouted at him, and he looked at me, confused.

"Lucy? What are you talking about? We don't have a Lucy in the guild. You're going bonkers, man. Maybe you should-" he started, but I pushed him to the side. _HOW DARE THAT BASTARD FORGET HER! WHAT ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? THEY DON'T KNOW ANYTHing! She's here. She's not dead. She can't be dead._ I got puzzled stares as I bolted out of the guild, and I glared them all down. I was able to get outside, breathing in fresh air, but was pushed to my knees by a force so strong, it seemed even stronger that Master Makarov's magical energy.

"Your sins have been forgiven," a voice boomed. Looking around, I saw nobody, and I held my head in my hands at the piercing pain that soon followed.

"The demon will be extracted, and all will be well, child," the voice echoed, and I looked up, only to see a figure so bright that I couldn't even look at it without surely being blinded. None the less, I squinted at him, only to have to look away moments later.

"Take care of her. Child of the stars, she is. She's important. Remember that," a burning, yet cool sensation filled my back, and I turned my head, only to see demon wings sprout from my back, then fade into dust. The sensation went away, and I staggered to my feet.

Lucy's POV  
A key I didn't recall having jingled, and I looked at my belt, only to have it glow brightly. A figure emerged, covered with shadows, and obviously male. As the shadows passed, my voice came out uncertain.

"Zeref?"

"He's been purified in the name of the heavens. Tch. I almost had you there. I'll get revenge, at one point," he said in a cold voice, different from the one he shared when I was with him a long time ago. I watched as he began to deteriorate into dust, drifting off into the wind. Hearing footsteps, I turned around, coming face to face with a blue haired man, a mob of girls swarming around him.

"They call me the Salamander, miss. Would you care to be mine?" he asked charmingly. Slowly, I felt my consciousness drifting away, and my feet dragged towards this 'Salamander'.

"Salamander…" The unfamiliar name rolled off my tongue. It was weird, yet familiar, and directing it towards this strange man seemed so wrong. Out of nowhere, though, a flash of pink blinded me, and I was released from the spell that previously held me. Blinking, my eyes darted towards the new man.

Slowly, they widened, and I reached out. _Natsu._

His bangs covered his eyes, but as he lifted his head to look at me, he broke into a smile, tears falling.

"Lucy…"

 _I had gotten used to the pain of not being loved, of being called weak, of that feeling of helplessness that haunted me around every corner._

I took a shaky step towards the familiar dragon slayer, taking in his appearance.

 _I had turned that pain into strength, though, but I never really grew strong, because I was the same in his eyes. The only pair of eyes that really mattered._

My other hand raised, stretched out towards him.

 _And during that time, I had evolved, facing new challenges, and overcoming different struggles._

 _I discovered I didn't need to be strong._

 _I found that I was fine the way I was._

 _But, I thought to myself._

 _'Would everything stay the same if I hadn't faced this pain?'_

 _'This suffering?'_

 _Does it still really matter?_

 _I got so used to this pain, that…_

 _I forgot what it felt like to be truly happy._

I ran into his arms, sending us both to the ground.  
"Natsu…" I whispered as he held me against his chest.

"Lucy, you're not dead…" Closing my eyes, I savored the sweet moment shared between us. Failing to notice the background of everything starting to blur, our hair floating gently in an undetermined wind.

Pulling away so I could look at him, I felt the warm feeling slowly drain, and be replaced with something new.

 _Another chance._

Without any control over my body, I moved backwards, picking up my magazine, and sitting back down on the bench. I saw the flash of pink disappear behind the bushes, but I didn't care.

 _A new beginning._

My eyes skimmed over the pages, my interest piqued.

 _A new ending. A gift from the heavens._

 _But, once again, it had been tinkered with by the devil. As for the consequences…_

 _would it be corrupt?_

My head snapped up to a rustle in the bushes, closing the magazine. I was surprised to see a boy stumble out, a windblown scarf wrapped around him and a blue cat on his shoulder. Seeing his distressed self, I couldn't help but laugh at his expense.

Natsu's POV

I heard laughter, the sounds of bells tinkling in the wind filling my ears. Turning, I saw a girl around the same age as me, with beautiful long hair, and a radiant smile. _What a… familiar smile…_ Walking over, I ran a hand through my hair, smiling.

"Yo! Have you seen a dragon anywhere around here, miss?" I said cheerfully, and she face palmed.

"Tell me, why would a dragon be here in Magnolia, in a small town?" she said, rolling her eyes, and I realized what a stupid mistake I had made.

"His name's Igneel, by any chance, anyways," I commented blankly, scratching my head, at a loss as to what I should do in this awkward situation.

Lucy's POV  
Noticing the mark on his shoulder, I inhaled sharply. Looking down at my blank hand, I slowly put it on his arm.

"You… Fairy Tail?"

"Yup!" He grinned, flashing a thumbs up at me, as the cat busied himself with chewing on a piece of fish he got from Mavis knows where. _Mavis?_

"The name's Natsu, Salamander of Fairy Tail, a bunch know me as!"  
"I'm… Lucy,"

Natsu's POV  
 _Lucy. A name that rolls off the tongue. I like that. I like it a lot, actually._ I felt my smile falter, though, and I began to tear up. Reaching for hand to shake it, I felt her cool palm against mine, the way our hands fit so perfectly together.

"Hey," she suddenly called out, causing me to stop staring at our intertwined hands.

"Can I join your guild?" I was at a loss of words for a second, but, regaining my composure, I put on my usual smile, and started to run, dragging Lucy along behind me.

"Why didn't you say so earlier?" I shouted over my shoulder, only to see her momentarily confused expression shift into that familiar smile again. Turning around, I felt something in my gut boil, and, as my feet hit the pavement in thuds, I thought about how the guild would be like with a new member.

"There are so many new friends you'll make: especially me, I'm the awesomest," I filled in the windswept silence.

"You'll make friends like me, Erza, Gray, and-" I cut myself off short, my eyes widening. _Lucy. No, that's not right._

"Luce,"

"Natsu?"

 _Yeah, that makes sense now,_ I thought to myself as memories flooded through me. Looking back at the blonde, I felt the tears in my eyes begin to fall. Stopping, I felt her tumble into my back.

"Luce," I breathed out, turning around. She looked surprised at my sudden gesture, me grabbing her shoulders.

"Don't you remember me?"

Lucy's POV

"Don't you remember me?" As he held me, the warmth seemed so familiar, so recognizable, yet so unknown. I hesitantly wrapped my arms around Natsu, and the awkwardness from before disappeared. We both closed our eyes, savoring each other's familiar company.

"Look," I started, my voice shaky.

"I don't really know who you are, but…" a burning feeling bloomed through my chest, an old feeling I hadn't felt in a while.

"I know I'm supposed to be with you," he blinked away his tears in surprise. Taking his hand gently, I felt another unfamiliar key glow. Looking down, a name automatically registered in my mind: Igneel.

Looking back at Natsu, I held my breath, but slowly began to walk.

 _I don't know what's happening, but I know I should go with him._

 _I don't know who he is, but I know I should trust him._

 _I don't know what this feeling is, but I know I should embrace it._

 _Before it's too late._

 _That's right._

 _Now, I can be happy, right?_

We walked hand in hand, teary eyed in the presence of a stranger. I looked at him, and he looked back.

"You don't…" he began, clutching his scarf with his other hand. He stopped once again, not allowing me to continue forward. Before I knew what happened, though, he grabbed me once more, our lips moving against each other.

 _Warm…_

My eyes widened as we parted for breath, and I looked into his onyx eyes. Faint pictures formed in my mind, pounding in my head.

No one's POV  
As the kiss stirred emotions inside the girl, the heavens tried to force them to spread.

"We'll do make her wish come true," Acrophil stated, commanding the other angels.

"Break the seal!" he barked, going to his panel, watching Earthland from where he hovered.

"He's trying to suppress her!" Xerotile shouted back, focusing his energy.

Back on Earthland, the young woman held her head, more memories flooding through.

"If she forgets, then everything will happen again! He's trying to take control once more!" Acrophil yelled, and all the angels, including himself, focused their energy, trying to fight off the evil forces below that were trying to take control of the girl's confused mind once again. The forces that were trying to force the girl into her secluded state, the way she was before, only to have the damned cycle continue, eating away at the both of them as the heavens weakened in their forces.

The blonde mage was finally able to form coherent thoughts, though, and her vision was only but filled with memories of the pink haired man and her family.

"Natsu," she choked out, his name rolling of off her tongue smoothly now.

"I remember…" She grabbed his hand more tightly, and the two leaned on each other as they walked on their path.

"Of course you did…," the pink haired mage called Natsu remarked, smiling weakly.

 _However, as the power of friendship had guided them before, defeating all of their enemies in their determination…_

 _Now, a new force, even stronger than the bond they once shared, has arisen…_

 _Love._

Hand in hand, they walked, and walked, and soon, they reached the guild of Fairy Tail.

"I remember that it started from here," she said fondly, her eyes trailing the large structure.

"No, I think that it started before we even met," the man said cheerfully, his energy level boosted. Confused, the woman cocked her head to one side, wanting an explanation.

Seeing her confused expression, he began to elaborate.

"I mean, I think it was fate for us to meet,"

"But, haven't you always said that you didn't believe in fate?" she questioned, looking back at the familiar symbol on the waving flags. _Fairy Tail._

"I think it was fate to be pulled apart, but it was my fate to burn destiny into a pile of ashes," he said, turning his head.

"Because," he continued, looking into the girl's chocolate brown eyes.

"I'm here with you right now, and you're here with me right now, and we'll be there for each other forever,"

"You're right, this is our new beginning, after all,"

"Whoo! I'm all fired up!"

"Silly, come on, let's go- oh wait! Do they remember me?"

The man thrust the doors open, flinging the girls concerns to the side. Natsu smiled, his hand outstretched as he looked back at the blonde.

"Come on, Luce! The adventure continues!" he shouted.

Lucy, prying her eyes away from the staring mages inside, smiled, taking his hand, as a few small tears formed in her eyes.

"Mn!"

 **The End.**

 ** _Sorry that this chapter was late, I wanted to put some extra effort in. I would like to thank all of you who have been patient with me, have gently prodded me on my mistakes, and have supported my story up until the end. This has been a pleasure to write, and I will definitely be writing again. If you hadn't been there, I would've been dilly dallying, but now, I've grown just a tad bit more in my writing, and you are the cause of all that. I am extremely grateful to you for taking just a little time of your day to read this surely mediocre story. Until next time,_**

 ** _~FatedGateway._**


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